


Falling For You - An Everlark Fanfiction

by orphan_account



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M, everlark, the hunger games - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-13
Updated: 2014-01-03
Packaged: 2017-12-23 10:11:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 31,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/925136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(On Semi-Hiatus) Katniss has never found love before, let alone had the time, but when a handsome blonde haired blue eyed man named Peeta moves in next door, she can't help but to find herself falling for him.<br/>Modern day AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

(Katniss)

Katniss had just gotten off her shift at Abernathy's, a Dive-Bar down the street in the small town of Panem. She was exhausted after working all day, nearly dropping four beer glasses in the first few hours. She was never able to stay focused at work, she had too much on her mind, and never got a good amount of sleep. Since her parents passed away in a car crash three years ago, she'd wake up in the middle of the night with horrific nightmares about her parents getting hit by that drunk driver. Every night the image of them getting crashed into by an out of control driver haunted her, and she hadn't been able to get a full amount of sleep since then.

It had happened on New Years when her parents had gone out to a party, and her and Prim had stayed home that night since Katniss was never one for parties or social gatherings, she could never find the right thing to say to anyone, and often mumbled and stuttered when she talked to people, her parents and sister were not socially awkward at all, but she had turned out different from them and just avoided talking to those she didn't know well. She was somewhat glad she hadn't gone, otherwise her and Prim wouldn't be here today. She missed her parents terribly, and fell into depression afterwards, but she realized grieving for too long wouldn't do her any good.

She had been alone for the past two years, no one to comfort her, her sister was in college far away from her, and the only person she could confide in was Gale or Haymitch. Gale had been her long time best friend since both their fathers worked together, and Hazelle and her mother had been best friends ever since they were in grade seven, and ever since their families had been close.

Haymitch had been a close family friend as well, he was her and Prim's babysitter for a long time when her parents would go out, although she couldn't see why they'd choose him as a babysitter for her and Prim, he was not responsible at all, and was pretty carefree to say the least. Haymitch had helped her and Prim out as much as he could when her parents passed away, her and Prim lived with him awhile before she found her own apartment and was hired at "Abernathy's" Haymitch's bar, she didn't get payed much but it helped. Her life had never been easy, but she managed to make it through.

___________________________________________________________

Katniss trudged up the four flights of steep stairs leading to her single bedroom apartment. After a hard days work and barely any sleep the night before, walking up all four flights of stairs was definitely not what she needed. She was exhausted and stressed after a day like today, she had dropped four glasses at work while receiving rude looks from the customers. She knew she was clumsy, and she couldn't help it and somehow she was still working there after the amount of glasses she'd broken while working there for two years. She knew Haymitch would never fire her though, he knew how much she was in need and she was like family to him.

After making her way up all four flights of stairs and entering her apartment, she was finally relaxed. Away from work, away from stress, she was home and finally felt at peace. Work had always been stressful, no matter what kind of day it was for her, so she was always glad when her shift was over and got to go home.

Peering out from under the sofa, the mangy orange cat, buttercup, crept out making his way to the kitchen towards Katniss, begging to be fed.

"Ulgh!" She huffed heading towards the pantry, pulling out a bag of cat food and pouring it into his food dish. Buttercup hurried over to the food dish, eating everything in the bowl within a matter of seconds. Katniss had never liked Buttercup, and Buttercup never liked Katniss either but when Prim went away to University she was unable to bring Buttercup and Katniss had to take him in, to make Prim happy.

"Someone's hungry." Katniss chuckled, watching the cat devour everything in the bowl.

Soon after, she had found something to watch on TV, grabbed a bite to eat and drifted off to sleep on her couch that night, too tired to make it to her own bedroom. It was four thirty in the morning when she had woken from yet another nightmare, thrashing around on the couch. This time Prim was in the car with her parents, the drunk driver speeding down a narrow dark road and crashing into them as Katniss was watched the whole thing as it happened right before her eyes, speechless. If Prim had been taken away from her too, she didn't know what she'd have done. Prim was the most important person in her life now, and she vowed she'd never let anyone or anything hurt her. Katniss took on the role of being Prim's guardian from then on.

"Oh my God" she panted, sitting up on the couch, her breaths coming out ragged and heavy. She then realized she was in the safety of her own home. She felt sick. The thought of her sister being in the car with them at that time was a thought she couldn't bare. She would have no family left had that happened. A headache was soon brought on afterwards, she slowly paddedi nto the small bathroom, popping open a bottle of Advil, taking the two orange pills and swallowing it with a glass of water. Her nightmares were no help to the anxiety and depression she already had to deal with.

Looking up in the mirror, she saw her pale, drained face, and two large bags hanging down from under her eyes. She quickly turned on the tap, splashing cold water up onto her face, hoping to wake up a little. She hated the way she looked, others had told her she was beautiful, and strong, but she didn't see it at all. She had never thought of herself as attractive, she had never dated, because she thought it was stupid and a waste of time, so she had just never tried to impress anyone but herself.

Her two grey eyes only saw an overly skinny girl, with no curves, or attractive features, and a mess of chocolate-brown hair hanging down past her shoulders. She began getting ready for the day, figuring she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep anyway without the fear of having another nightmare again.

After putting her hair up into a tight ponytail, she slipped on a pair of tight black shorts, a sports bra and a light green tank top, she was ready to go for a run, which she did often to keep sane. It was 9:00, the perfect time to go across the street to the large park to run through.  
She quickly ran down the stairs after tying up a pair of her old running shoes, and hurried to get outside of her drab apartment when "Oof!"

"Sorry!" she exclaimed "Oh my god, I didn't mean to-" 

"It's fine" the blond-haired, blue-eyed man chuckled "It wasn't your fault"

"Of course it was! I just plowed into you!" she blurted "I'm really sorry, let me help you pick that up." Crouching down, she picked up what looked like some picture frames and small knickknacks that had fallen out of the box he'd been trying to carry up the stairs before she had bumped into him.

"Hey wait, I've never seen you around her before," she remarked, pulling her hair away from her face and glancing up towards him "Are you just moving in...or?"

"Well, yeah actually," he pronounced, scratching the back of his neck. She noticed his strong muscular jaw as he said this, suddenly feeling attracted to him. He was very handsome, he had broad shoulders, wavy blond hair, a boyish grin, and the most beautiful blue eyes she'd ever seen in her life. She found herself staring at him as he finished speaking, not paying attention to what he was saying when she finally snapped out of it and realized he'd been talking the whole time she'd been staring at him.

"W-What?" she uttered, feeling embarrassed from staring for so long and not listening, he hoped he hadn't noticed, though he probably had. She always found some way to embarrass herself in front of others.

"Oh um, I said I'm just moving in this morning, I'm just moving some of the smaller stuff in right now, and the movers are working on bringing my furniture in," he smiled looking down at the worn green carpet, and then back up at her again. "I'm on the fourth floor, I'm not sure how they're gonna make it up all those stairs." He chuckled, picking up the brown cardboard box from the floor with his strong toned arms.

"4th floor? Really? That's where my apartment is!" she said a little too excitedly. Regretting how her words came out. Stupid. She thought. She hated the way she was sounding. She was just embarrassing herself, like she always did when she talked to guys.

"Really? Wow, uh, maybe you could show me around later?" he asked, a blush creeping onto his face. "I mean well, I'm not really familiar with this place, I just moved here. I hope it doesn't seem weird." He added. 

"Yeah, uh, sure...my room number is 412, you can stop by later if you want. I was just headed out on a jog, so after you finish moving in feel free to stop by." She offered with a weak smile, already regretting the words coming out of her mouth. She knew that she was just going to embarrass herself more in front of him. He's probably dating someone Katniss, someone as handsome as he is, is surely not single She thought to herself.

"Sounds good. 412 eh? Um well, my names Peeta by the way." He said stretching out his arm, offering a friendly handshake.

"Katniss." She reached out and shook his hand. He finally let go and she wished he hadn't, his touch still lingered there, giving her goosebumps, a blush creeping onto her face. Stop getting your panties in a twist over this guy Katniss, you don't have the time to date. She thought to herself. It was true, she didn't have the time to date, and I'm sure he wasn't interested anyway, there was no way she'd be able to score a guy like him.

"Well, Nice to meet you Katniss." He winked at her causing her heart to stop for a split second. She had never been so interested in a guy before, though most guys never talked to her, besides Gale of course, but other than that, nobody. This feeling building up inside of her was all new, most guys never had payed attention to her, she wasn't the most flattering person anyway. She was a nobody, she had always been to focused on work and school to pay attention to guys anyway. She had tried dating in High School, but that hadn't worked out so well.

"Same to you. Well, I better start on my jog, its 9:30 already. I'll talk to you later Peeta!" She smiled and waved as she made her way out the front door. He offered a wave back along with the smile that she loved already. His teeth were perfectly white, and perfectly straight making her heart flutter. She had never seen guys as handsome or as friendly as him. He seemed like a dream like character, or prince charming. She couldn't wait until he would stop by later, she had a good feeling about Peeta already.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Hey guys! Thank you so much for reading! This is the first fanfic I've EVER written, and I know I'm not the greatest writer yet, but I'm getting there! Please leave reviews, it would mean so much to me. No hate please, constructive criticism would help! And if you have any suggestions leave those as well :)

Feel free to check out my tumblr and follow me there at radiantxasxthexsun.tumblr.com you can ask me anything and leave reviews there as well!

xoxo

Alexis.


	2. Chapter 2

(Katniss)

Katniss jogged through the quiet park, only hearing the sound of her old running shoes hitting the sidewalk below her. She tried to clear her mind of what had happened that morning, but she couldn't seem to get Peeta off of her mind. She loved the way his wavy blonde curls brushed over his forehead, how his beautiful blue eyes looked into her silvery-grey ones, and his jaw, his jaw was a whole different story. It was strong and masculine, making him look even more handsome. She could not get the blonde-haired blue eyed boy out of her head no matter how hard she tried.

She quickened her pace as she headed back through the park, eager to get back home to see Peeta again. He was just looking for someone to show him around, like he said, but she hoped that it was more than that. She had already taken a liking to him from the moment she bumped into him that morning. He was kind, and sweet and was not at the least bit annoyed with her bumping into him and knocking everything out of his hands, so she thought. He didn't seem like the person to become angry or annoyed easily, he had a kind manner about him that drew her towards him.

Once reaching the glass doors of her appartment, she noticed the movers hauling a table out the back of their truck, one man on each end of the table carefully moving the wooden table inside the doors of the apartment complex and then making their way up the stairs. She remembered how Peeta had said he'd come over after he was done moving in, so she had a bit of time to remove the sweaty clothes from herself and shower a bit before seeing him again, she wanted to at least look decent.

What if he didn't like her? What if he already had a girlfriend? Or better yet a wife? Katniss stop being stupid. He just asked you to show him around, he didn't ask you on a date. She needed to stop thinking of him that way, they would probably end up meeting up once this time and just stick to being aquaintances. She wasn't looking to date anyway, how could she? She had no experience what so ever, and she didn't have the time. She wasn't romantic at all, and didn't want to have to worry about trying to impress someone. All she cared about was being able to provide for herself and Prim and she was just scooting by, but with Peeta's good looks and friendly personality she thought about it, though it was never going to happen in her mind, but it would be nice to have someone as handsome as him around her arm. 

She stepped out of the white tiled shower, and began combing through her long brown hair until it was smooth. Sometimes having her long thick hair was a pain, hard to comb, it got tangled easily and looked more like a mess most of the time. She slipped on a pair of faded jeans, and tightening the belt around her small waist, then slipping on a burgundy colored V-neck sweater. After her hair was dry she braided her long hair and fastened it with a black rubber elastic. She looked decent, there was nothing special in her wardrobe, she didn't care what she wore because she had no one to impress, but she at least tried to look decent for Peeta.

She was startled by rapping on the door. She quickly shot up from the couch, pulling the stray hairs in front of her face behind her ears. She was nervous, though she didn't know why, all he asked was that she show him around. Quickly, she unlocked and opened the wood door, seeing the familiar smile of Peeta standing in the hallway in front of her.

"Oh, hey Peeta." She greeted him, trying to keep herself from getting too excited. He looked tired, which he probably was from moving things all day. It was 3:00 now, and he'd been there since 9:00 that morning. "Hey Katniss, uh, is this a good time for you?" He asked her, offering a small smile that made her heart pound faster in her chest.

"Yeah, no, it's perfect actually." She retorted, offering a weak smile back. "Great, well uh, do you wanna show me around?" He asked, raising an eyebrow."Well that's what you asked me to do, isn't it?" She countered, moving into the hallway closing the door behind her, they began walking down the 4th floor hallway. She figured he already knew how to get around on this floor, he'd probably been up and down the stairs at least 100 times today.

"Well yeah," he chuckled "I just wasn't sure if you were still up to it." he told her as they walked down the narrow hallway. "No, of course I am, I had nothing else to do all day." She sighed, she'd probably be on her couch right now, watching some stupid reality TV show with a bag of chips in hand, spending time with the handsome Peeta was definetly better than that.  
"Ah, alright, well thanks for doing this." He flashed a quick smile revealing his perfectly white teeth making her heart skip a beat. 

"It's no bother at all, it's nice to meet your new neighbors 'ya know?" She replied, turning down towards the first staircase of many."Jeez, I wish they had an elevator here." She said with a laugh "It's hard walking up all of these stairs sometimes." She certainly kept in shape because of them though, but it was a pain when having to bring groceries home and carry them up all 4 flights. "Yeah, for sure," He answered back with a chuckle "I didn't think the movers were gonna make it" he laughed."Must've been tough." She agreed. It would have been hard to carry heavy furniture up 4 steep flights of stairs. She couldn't imagine being able to do it. They'd finally reached the lobby, and she began showing him around to make him familiar with the place. She'd lived there for three years, and knew the area well. "Here's the mailboxes, over there is the workout room, down there is the laundry room and that's about it for the lobby." She stated awkwardly. She lead him outside to the street. "Underground parking is just over there." She told him, pointing to the driveway going underground around the corner of the building. "Thanks, I'll remember that." he beamed.

"So have you just moved here?" She asked him, meeting his gaze. He didn't seem like he knew the area well, and she was sure he had to be new to the small town of Panem, otherwise he wouldn't be asking for her to show him around. "Well, actually...no." He murmured, staring down at the pavement. Katniss raised her eyebrow as he told her this. "Really? Well then why would you ask for me to show you around if you live here?" She questioned, still astonished by what he'd said. Why would she be taking the time out of her day to show him around Panem if he'd lived here? "Well, when you bumped into me this morning, I don't know..." he trailed of, his hand running through his mess of blonde hair. "I just wanted to get to know you I guess, you seem...different." He added, looking up at her finally. "Different?" She raised her eyebrow "What do you mean different?" She snapped back at him, his eyes went wide and a look of embarrassment flooded his face.

"No, no, no, not...ugh." He pinched the bridge of his nose and looked down, his eyes squinted, obviously regretting what he'd just said. "Not a bad different, a good different." he added, smiling at her in hopes to make the awkward situation better. "What?" She didn't know whether to thank him or what to say. Things had suddenly gotten awkward between them. She felt bad for making him feel like he'd said the wrong thing when he was only trying to tell her why he'd asked her to show him around when he had lived in Panem. "Listen, Katniss, I didn't mean it the way you thought, I don't think you're weird or anything, I actually really like being around you. I thought it was a good opportunity to get to know you I guess." He said sympathetically "Oh." She uttered, she didn't know what else to say. Was he interested in her? No. He couldn't be. There was no possible way that he would be interested in her. Even if there was the possibility that he was, she refused to believe it.

"Katniss, I'm sorry for taking up your time." He told her. "It's just, I wanted an excuse to get to know you, and I guess I wasn't being very smart by saying I needed to be shown around...but it was all I could think of at the time, and well it is what it is now, but if it meant I got to see you again than I don't really care." Katniss was completely and utterly dumbfounded. She couldn't believe it! He wanted to get to know her? He wanted to spend time with her? No, it didn't make sense at all. 

"Katniss, please say something, I know it seems weird and I probably seem like the biggest creep right now, but please say something." He begged. She felt bad, she didn't think he was weird, or a creep, she was just shocked that a guy like him had told her that he wanted to get to know her, this rarely ever happened. "Sorry," She muttered, looking back up at him again after her what he was saying registered in her brain. "So you're saying, you want to get to know me? She guffawed, it was unbelievable. There had to be more to it than that. "Well yeah, why do you find it so hard to believe?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, this can't be a shock to you, guys must come up to you all the time." He boldly stated. Katniss laughed out loud, what a joke. "Are you serious? No, that's not the case at all. I've been a nobody all my life, and I'm completely shocked that someone like you is wanting to get to know me of all people." She answered back in disbelief. His face looked shocked when she told him this.  
"You can't be serious, I highly doubt I'm the only one who's taken a liking to you, Katniss." He wasn't the only guy, there had been a few in the past, but she was guarded and didn't like talking to guys with the exception of her best friend Gale. Everyone had thought her and him were dating anyway, so no one really even tried.

"Well I am serious, you shouldn't be shocked, I'm the one who's shocked that you would even try to talk to me, let alone want to meet up with me again!" She shouted, not meaning to be so harsh. But what was said had been said. "Katniss, I've only known you for an hour, but I can't see why you'd think that of yourself, I mean, forgive me if this sounds weird since I've only known you a short time, but you're well, you're beautiful" He told her boldly. Katniss laughed again, unable to believe a single word that was coming out of his mouth. "You think I'm beautiful." She laughed again, still unable to believe one word leaving his mouth. "You're joking. This is all a joke." She was certain. It had to be.

"What?! No, no not at all Katniss." She could tell he was being serious when he said this by the distressed look on his face, but it was still beyond belief for her. "So, you wanted to see me again because you though I was... beautiful?" She laughed "I mean, I just find it hard to believe, no one has ever told me that before." She answered, she was being honest. She had heard it from family members before, but never anyone else. "Well it's true Katniss, you are," He told her, meeting her gaze again. It was hard for her to look at him, she had just met him, and he had already told her she was beautiful? This couldn't be real. Someone as handsome as him telling her this was not what she expected to hear. She could only dream of something like this happening. 

"I'm sorry for being so guarded, but this is all new to me." She confessed feeling sorry for not accepting such a kind compliment. Peeta met her gaze again "It's fine, Katniss. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable around me." He told her, giving her a weak smile. That wasn't the case at all, she had felt a little uncomfortable at the start, but she enjoyed being around him, he made her feel at ease. It was nice to spend time with someone other than Gale. She had friends, but with work she never got a lot of time to see them. 

"Don't worry about it," she smiled. "I actually...I-I like spending time with you, I know this is only the first time we've really spent time together but I like it." She admitted. A look of relief spread across Peeta's face. "Well I'm glad. I like spending time around you too." Katniss felt a blush creep up onto her face, she hoped he hadn't noticed.

"Well anyway, I better get going, I have some furniture to assemble in my apartment unfortunately." He sighed looking back at the apartment complex.  
"Oh, well I better let you go then, it was really nice talking to you today." She told him.  
"Yeah it was," he replied, kicking a small stone off of the pavement. "Would you mind if I asked for your cell number?" he asked her timidly. Katniss didn't use her phone much, she had a crappy plan and she didn't really text, but maybe Peeta would change that. "Uh, yeah, sure." She answered back. He handed his phone over to her, it was a new iPhone, something she could never afford, compared to her old blackberry she'd gotten second hand, it seemed like a luxury to have. She quickly typed in her name and number in, and handed the shiny black iPhone back to him. "I'll text you later." He winked. Katniss' heart nearly lept out of her chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! These chapters will get longer (: but for now I'm keeping them short until I get more readers.  
> Leave a review, it'll make my day (:
> 
> You can also leave questions/reviews on my tumblr ! radiantxasxthexsun.tumblr.com
> 
> Love you guys! Keep your eyes open for the next chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

Thoughts of Peeta still flooded her mind, she couldn't get him off her mind. She had never been this affected by a guy before, mostly because guys had never really encountered her or wanted to get to know her. Something about Peeta made her feel at ease, his gentle voice, and kind nature drew her towards him. He reminded her of her sister Prim, friendly and gentle just like he was. She felt sad when Peeta had told her he had to go, she wanted to spend more time with him, 45 minutes was not enough. She hoped he texted her soon. He had left to go grab the rest of his things from his old house, and Katniss had returned back to her apartment. 

An hour later, the familiar ring tone sounded from her phone. Katniss shot up from her seat on the couch, hoping it was Peeta. An unfamiliar number popped up on her screen, it had to be Peeta.

Hey Katniss. It's Peeta I told you I'd text u (:

Katniss wasn't sure what to say back, she fumbled with the keyboard, entering sentences and deleting them figuring they'd sound stupid. Why was she over thinking a text message? she thought. Quickly, she thought of the appropriate thing to say and sent her message quickly.

Hey Peeta, hows the moving been going? 

She waited a few minutes before her phone vibrated again, a new message from Peeta popping up.

Exhausting

Katniss smiled at the message, picturing him piecing his furniture together alone in his apartment.

Need help? She sent him, regretting it already. She didn't want to seem like she was clingy, though she had to be daring and take chances, she wanted to see him again, and badly. She wanted to get to know him this time.

Her phone buzzed again, another message from Peeta popping up on the small screen of her blackberry.

Sure that'd be great actually. My room number is 416 come on over whenever ur ready (: 

Katniss smiled at his response, slipping her phone into her back pocket, and put on a pair of black flaths and was out the door in a matter of seconds. She walked down the hallway, and four doors down from her was Peeta's room. She knocked on the door, already feeling anxious to get to see him for the second time in a day.

Peeta swiftly opened the door, his familiar smile gracing his face. 

"That was fast," He laughed at her and motioned for her to come inside of his fair-sized apartment that looked similar to hers "Sorry, it's kind of a mess right now." He chuckled moving inside and into the living room.

"I don't mind," Katniss said softtly. She was just happy to be spending time around him again, it didn't matter what it looked like right now. Being around Peeta was enough for her.

Strewn across what she guessed would be the living room were Ikea boxes, and partially assembled pieces of furniture. The layout was nearly identical to hers, but down the hallway was a second bedroom instead of a single bedroom like hers. The apartment was pretty much bare, with the exception of the boxes and half-assembled bookshelf that lay on the ground below her. 

"So, what made you move in here?" Katniss asked, plopping herself down on the floor and picking up a piece of paper with instructions on how to build the wide bookshelf.

Peeta soon plopped down beside her, taking the screws out of the box in front of them.

"Well, life at home was rough," He sighed, undoing the bag and spilling the screws in front of his feet. "My mom is hard to deal with sometimes, and I decided enough is enough." He finished. Katniss instantly felt bad for him, it didn't look like it was the thing he wanted to talk about.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry to hear that." She uttered out, meeting his gaze. His beautiful blue eyes met with hers, causing her heart to do a somersault. She quickly turned back to the instructions, pretending to look like she knew what she was doing, the pause in the room made everything seem awkward until Peeta began talking again.

"You don't need to apologize you know, it's not like you had anything to do with it." He smiled weakly, looking at her again.

"I know," She replied, reaching up to move her brown hair out of her face "I just feel sorry." She continued. She knew that talking about what it was like at home for him was probably a touchy subject.

"You don't have to," He sighed "I just didn't get along with my mother, and life at home was becoming too much for me to handle, I mean I had to move out at some point though anyway." 

"True," she replied, she decided that this conversation was probably awkward for him, so she quickly changed the subject, before things could become more awkward between the two of them.

"So, what do you do?" She asked, looking at his hands that positioned a screw in place. 

"I'm an art teacher," He told her proudly "There's an art program at the elementary school I teach at, so I teach kids from K-6."

"Oh wow, so you paint?" She asked raising an eyebrow, she didn't see it coming. Though his kind and patient manner made it believable. The thought of him working with kids all day made her smile, by the way he told her what he did, it seemed like he really enjoyed it.

"Yeah, quite regularly actually, I can show you some of my stuff if you want." He offered. Katniss smiled and nodded her head. He stood up and put his hand out to help her up from her cross-legged position on the ground, and lead her down the narrow hallway to a small bedroom with nothing in it but paintings propped against the wall. Katniss moved towards the paintings that were neatly lined up against the wall, and picked a small one up that caught her eye. It was of a three small blonde-haired boys in a bakery, standing up on a stool with a taller man that looked much like Peeta did, but older. The painting was so realistic, she couldn't believe that he had painted something so beautiful.

Peeta stood by Katniss, tracing some of the figures with his finger. "That's one of my favourites," Peeta told her "My dad, my brothers and I baked a lot at my dad's bakery he owns, it's one of my favourite memories." he told her, it seemed like he was close with his brothers and his father by the way he talked about them.

"Oh, so you're a baker?" Katniss smirked, "I never would have guessed that either." 

"Yeah," he chuckled, placing the photo back against the wall "Not what you'd think hey?"

"No, not at all." Katniss snickered, "Painting and baking...I like it." She told him offering a wide smile, both of them laughing together, Katniss blushing slightly.

"Really? That's a shock, most girls prefer the jocks, baking isn't the most manly thing" He chuckled, a light smile spreading across his face. The way he constantly smiled at her made her feel at ease with him. 

"I'm not one for sports, I'd rather have a someone who can bake than sit around and watch hockey all day." She told him, she realized he was now blushing. She giggled, looking at his now rosy cheeks.

"Well, I like sports too, but baking and painting was something I really enjoyed and it was something I was good at." He told her, smirking slightly. 

"I better get to try some of your baking sometime." She stated, if he grew up learning to bake, he had to be pretty good.

"How about on Thursday I take you out for dinner and then to the bakery?" He asked her sheepishly. He seemed shy when he asked, but then stared at her waiting for her to answer. Was he asking her out on a date? It sure sounded like it, and she didn't mind the idea. The thought of them both going out to a nice dinner and getting to know eachother better made her want to, but her only doubt was that she had never been on a date before, she wouldn't know how to act, but Peeta and her seemed to get along great now so if she acted herself like she was, it was sure to go smoothly.

"Oh wow, that'd be great." She replied. Her heart sped up when he beamed at her, she was glad that she had agreed.

"Then it's a date." He said excitedly.

A date. Peeta Mellark had just asked her on a date. She couldn't believe it. 

"So anyway, I never asked what you did." He stated, following her back out to the living room.

"Well, it's not impressive." She laughed, feeling a blush creep onto her cheecks "I'm a bartender at Abernathy's, just down the street from here." She told him, feeling embarrassed. He was a teacher, and she was working at a shitty dive-bar down the street making barely any money at all. She had wanted to go to college, but gave Prim the opportunity instead since she new how badly Prim had wanted to become a nurse.

"Hey, better than nothing right? I bet you get a lot of customers just because you work there." He winked, making her feel butterflies in the pit of her stomach. 

Katniss laughed awkwardly, not sure what to say back to him.

"That's not the case," She told him giving a weak smile. "But thanks for trying."

"Why can't you accept a compliment?" He asked, furrowing his brows, a confused look on his face. Katniss felt bad for never accepting the compliments he gave her, but she had told him that morning that it was hard for her to accept compliments.

"I don't know," She sighed, looking down at Peeta assembling the bookshelf. "I'm just not used to recieving them." She dropped her gaze from Peeta, who was sitting on the floor assembling the bookshelf.

Peeta stood up from his spot on the ground, dropping the screwdriver, and facing Katniss. "I don't get why you wouldn't recieve compliments, I mean, you're beautiful," He stated, offering a smile at her "I've said it before, and it's one-hundred percent true." pronounced, the look in his eyes told her he was being serious when he said this to her, it was similar to the look he gave her in front of the apartments that morning, and she remembered how disappointed he was then when she had given him a look of disbelief and practically laughed in his face when he said it, figuring it was a joke of some sort, but after getting to know him she knew that he wouldn't do tha

Katniss gave him a quick smile, but stared down at the beige carpet underneath her feet. Peeta frowned, and came slowly walked up to her, cupping her face with both hands. Katniss was shocked at the gesture, but felt content with the way he gave her a comforting smile, and rubbed her face, under her eye were a single tear slipped down her cheek.

"Katniss, you are, and don't ever doubt it okay?" He told her, his face close to hers, making her heart race faster and faster. He moved her chocolate brown hair away from her face, and gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek. 

"Thank you," She whispered, trying to hold back the tears forming in her eyes "I've just never felt beautiful before, and to hear someone say it is a shock to me." She told him. She felt bad for crying in front of him, but the way he comforted her and made her feel at ease made her stop and realize that he was being serious about having an interest in her. 

"I don't know why anyone wouldn't tell you that, because you truly are, and you need to believe it when I tell you." He told her, reaching out and grabbing her hand. Her hand fit perfectly with his soft and warm one, being with him made everything feel right around her. Every time he touched her, her heart sped up and started beating faster and faster, everything Peeta was telling her made her feel exhilerated. No one had ever made her feel like he did, and she couldn't believe it was happening. Having a guy like Peeta Mellark tell her these things was something she could only dream of.

"I better get going," She told him "It was really, really nice seeing you again today." She remarked, flashing a smile towards him.

"It was nice seeing you too, and I'll see you Thursday night at six?" He questioned, wating for her to answer back.

"Six is good," She beamed, "I'll see you then, Peeta." She waved goodbye and closed the wooden door behind her, and slowly walked down the hall incapable of believing what had just happened between them.

 

 

Hey guys! Sorry I didn't update when I promised D: Please don't hurt me! 

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, yes it was a quick one, but I had to get it done. The next one should be up sometime this week, and at some point I will have a regular schedule on when to update this story, but right now it's just kind of whenever.

Please leave reviews! And you can follow/ask me things on my tumblr at radiantxasxthesunx.tumblr.com I will answer anything! Thanks for reading <3 (:


	4. Chapter 4

It's Thursday night, the night Katniss is supposed to meet Peeta for dinner. She had just gotten out of the shower, and quickly combed out her hair, getting rid of the tangles and knots. Once finished, she had scurried into her bedroom, picking out what she thought would be appropriate. Fishing through her closet, she pulled out two possible outfits she could wear that night. She pulled on a green short-sleeved blouse, and a black skirt, but something about the outfit wasn't right, it looked too conserved for her liking. She discarded the clothes, tossing them carelessly on the ground and tried on the next outfit. She slipped on a light orange dress that Prim had given to her for her birthday, it was nice, but not too fancy and not too casual either. It was short sleeved, and plain, and reached just above her knees. She never thought she'd be able to pull it off, but once slipping on a pair of nude-colored pumps, and some jewellery it all felt right. She left her hair down, her natural waves reaching past her shoulders. She had put on some mascara and eyeliner, and a bit of foundation and powder to make herself look presentable, she actually felt good about herself this time, and if Peeta had thought she was beautiful without having to dress up, she couldn't wait to see what his reaction was like when he saw her dressed up.

New Text Message from Peeta: Be there in 5 :)   
Katniss smiled at the text, feeling butterflies in her stomach as she read it. She couldn't wait to see him again. They had texted since Monday when she last saw him, but actually getting to go out with him on a date was something new and exciting for her.

Katniss sent a quick text back, saying she couldn't wait and was ready. The 5 minutes passed by quickly when she heard a knock on the door. She grabbed her purse, and opened it quickly and there Peeta stood before her, his wavy hair brushing over his face, and his blue eyes scanning her up and down. 

"You look amazing," he breathed, staring into her grey eyes. "You're wearing my favourite colour."

"Really? Then I guess I chose the right outfit," She laughed "And you look even more handsome than last time." She giggled looking at his unruly hair, and long eyelashes. He was wearing a blue dress shirt and black dress pants with a leather jacket on top. He took her hand in his, and laced their fingers together as they walked down the hall, making little conversation. They reached the lobby, and headed out the glass doors and into the underground parking lot reaching his beautiful new car. Katniss could only dream of owning a car like his, it was a black Toyota Corolla with all the bells and whistles, black leather interior, and plenty more. 

"This is yours?" She asked surprised, most people her age she knew could never afford brand new cars like his.

"Yeah, my dad helped chip in some money for it, I had been saving for a long time, but it was worth it." He smiled, opening the door to the passenger seet and motioning for her to move inside the car. She swiftly sat down on the leather seat, and waited until Peeta shut the door on her side and moved to his, starting the cars engine. 

"Where are we headed?" She asked, looking out the clear windsheild trying to figure where they were going, she had never been to many restaurants around their small town, not having anyone to go with or the time to.

"A little italian restaurant here, it's one of my favourites." He smiled, while keeping his focus on the road in front of them. Katniss had never had anyone treat her so well before, Peeta had been nothing but kind to her and the more she was around him, the more she fell for him. 

They finally reached the small parking lot in front of the little restaurant. Katniss had moved to open up the door on her side, but Peeta froze her, lifting up his index finger, indicating that he'd get it. Such a gentleman. 

He moved to her side of the car, gently opening up the door, Katniss smiled nudging him in the side "You're ridiculous you know, I can open my own door." She scoffed with a light laugh at the end of her sentence. 

"It's called being a gentleman." He told her, taking her small hand in his large one. Katniss laughed , feeling completely at ease with Peeta yet again. He had that effect on her, though this was only their third time meeting, she felt like they'd known eachother longer than 3 days. 

Peeta and her walked hand in hand, up to the front desk where one of the hosts greeted them, taking them to a booth at the side of the room up against a large window. It was a quaint little restaurant in the middle of town that had red and white checkered table cloths, and smelt absolutely delicious making her stomach grumble. She could not wait to taste the food, everything around her smelt delicious.

Peeta and her sat across from eachother, making small talk about the restaurant and how good everything smelt. Finally the waitress came to them, asking them what they wanted to drink.

"Do you drink wine?" He asked her after the waitress had kindly told them about their wine special that night. 

"Yeah on special occassions," Katniss chuckled, "You choose." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The waitress returned with their orders, handing Katniss her Spaghetti and Meatballs with bolognese sauce and a side of caesar salad, the food smelt heavenly, much better than the ramen noodles she often had and microwavable meals. Peeta's ravioli was set in front of him, his eyes filled with delight. 

"This smells delicious." Katniss said, inhaling the scent of the delicious italian food in front of her.

"It's even better when you taste it." Peeta leered. They both clinked their glasses of red wine together, and began their meal, Katniss couldn't believe what she was tasting, the food in front of her was the best she'd ever tasted in her life.

"So, tell me about your family." Katniss started, hoping to engage in a conversation and finally get to know more about him.

"Well, like I told you before, my family own's a bakery," He told her while taking another sip of wine, "It's just in the middle of town, you'll see it when I take you later." He smirked

"I have two older brothers, James and Devon,"He explained "I'm the baby of the family, dad's favourite but mom isn't too fond of me." 

"Why's that? I can't see why anoyone would dislike you." She stated, it was honest, why wouldn't anyone like Peeta?

"Well, she's not really fond of me or my brothers, I'm just the one she dislikes the most," He looked down at his food again, picking up another piece of raviolli with his fork and popping it in his mouth before continuing again. "My dad's the complete opposite though, I can't see why he ended up with my mother." 

"Did you ever have a good relationship with your mom?" Katniss questioned, she didn't know what else to say, but she was curious about him.

"Pretty much yeah, she had never really been there for me and my brothers," He sighed "She's a perfectionist, which made it hard to do anything without her complaining all the time and getting tortured for screwing things up. She still is that way, only it's gotten worse. She doesn't really care for anyone anymore, not even my dad and I can't see how he puts up with her." 

Katniss pieces what he is saying together. She never would have guessed his life was like that, and he wondered what made his mother so horrible. From the way he talked about her, she didn't seem very pleasant, but he seemed like he had a strong relationship with his dad. She could only wish that her parents were still here like his was.

"I'm sorry." She sympathized, she felt horrible that he'd never had a mother to care for him, his dad sounded like a nice enough person, and certainly raised him well from the looks of it, but not having a loving mother growing up had to be tough.

"You're turn." Peeta smiles, Katniss realizes he's suggesting she share about her family.

"Well, I have a sister named Primrose, Prim for short, and my parents..." She trailed off, she wasn't sure she was ready to share about her parents death. Peeta sat staring at her, waiting for her to continue, she wanted to tell him, but she wasn't sure how it had been forever since she told someone about her parents death, and she avoided the subject, but now she was put on the spot.

"You don't have to tell me anything you're not comfortable with sharing you know." He told her sympathetically. Katniss shook her head, she was going to tell him, he had just shared about his family and it wasn't fair that he'd opened up to her, and she couldn't. She rarely talked about her parents death which made it hard for her to tell people when it came to it.

"My parents died in a car crash two years ago." Katniss choked out, looking down at her hands that were folded together on the table. She looked back up at Peeta, who's eyes were filled with sorrow. She offered a weak smile, letting him know she was fine with it.

"I-Oh wow, I'm really sorry to hear that, I had no idea." Peeta uttered out. He looked embarrassed, but she couldn't see why he would be, he had just asked about her family and she told him the truth. There was nothing for him to be sorry about, the question was innocent.

"It's fine." Katniss assured him. She took another sip of large sip of her wine, letting it slide down her throat. It was rare when she got to drink expensive wine like this, and it had felt good to have a night to enjoy herself for once.

"Well we're getting somewhere," Peeta laughed "Don't feel pressured to tell me anything you don't want, that's not what I'm trying to do. Just say what's comfortable." he gave her a warm smile, and reached his hand across the table grabbing hers in his, and stroked his thumb over her knuckles making her feel completely at ease. The simple gesture made her heart soar, something so basic had made her feel stronger.

Peeta pulled his hand away, and chuckled when she pouted, she wanted to do more, she wanted to kiss him and touch him and feel alive. If something as basic as holding hands made a spark flicker inside her, she had wondered what would happen if they had done more. She stored the thought in the back of her head, when she realized she'd been staring out the window for nearly a minute, imagining the way his lips felt against hers. She was startled by the sound of Peeta's voice.

"Katniss?" He asked, his brow furrowed and a confused look on his face "You alright?" Katniss nodded, and appologized, her cheeks turned pink from embarrassment.

"I still want to get to know you," He smirked.

"Ask away." She smiled back

"What do you do for fun?" he asked, his hand reached for hers again, and she quickly moved her hand to fit with his. 

"Well, nothing really," She sighed, looking down. She didn't really do anything 'for fun' anymore, all she was worried about was being able to look out for herself and Prim. "I hunt sometimes with my friend Gale, and I sing...a bit." Why'd I say that last sentence. Katniss you're an idiot, know he's gonna want to hear you sing. She thought to herself, she never sang in front of others, but enjoyed music enough to sing along to it when she was alone, but she didn't do it often enough to be particularily good.

"Should I be scared that you hunt?" Peeta chuckled

"A bit," She laughed "I could shoot you with my bow pretty quick if I ever needed to." Peeta laughed even harder, his laugh was infectious and she instantly started laughing along with him.

"You hunt with a bow?" He asked, his face looked extremely surprised, she had a wide grin on her face just from his reaction.

"Sure do," She replied with a wide smile "Kind of unusual now a days." Most people had hunted outside of their little town in the woods, her and Gale hadn't used guns to shoot animals like most people. Instead she used a bow, and Gale used his snares to trap animals. Spending a day in the woods was her favourite way to spend a day.

"That's shocking. I never would have guessed you hunted, or sang really." He told her. He was right, she didn't seem like the person to spend a day out in the woods, shooting animals and then skinning them with her bare hands later that day, but her father had taught her when she was little and all good memories of him came back when she hunted. It was something that kept her mind off of all the struggles going on in her life.

"I never guessed you baked either, it's strange what you learn." She chuckled.

"Sure is," He grinned. They both stared at eachother in pure bliss, everything about him was perfect. He was charming and knew just how to cheer her up even when he barely knew her. Something about him was different about other guys, he knew how to respect her, and wasn't like the douchebags she'd met in high school. 

"I'll pay for the bill and we'll head out for dessert at the bakery." He simpered. Katniss tried to argue saying she'd pay for have, but he had won the argument saying he'd asked her on the date and it was his job to pay. Katniss usually wouldn't let other people pay for her, but he had insisted on it.

After the bill was payed, Peeta helped Katniss slip on her light jacket and took her hand in his again, leading her out of the restaurant. He lead her back into his shiny black car, closing the door on the passenger side and heading around to the drivers seat.

They both drove down the road in silence, it was nearly eight thirty when they had gotten to the bakery. It wasn't too far from the appartment complex, then again, nothing really was since it was such a small little town with only a few apartment complexes to choose from. 

"Here we are," he smiled brightly as he put the car in park in front of the bakery. He seemed proud that his family worked there. The large sign with the name 'Mellark's Bakery' in elegant letters at the front of the little building. She couldn't wait to see what it was like and try some of the baking there that was apparently 'to die for'. "It's been here forever." he chuckles. Peeta opened the door on her side again, and intertwined his fingers with hers. The gesture made her heart flutter. Everything he did made her heart race, he had no idea how much she was falling for him.

Both of them walked into the entrance of the bakery, it had a large counter at the front, numerous pastries and cakes were placed on the shelves inside the glass cases at the counter. A man who looked almost identical to Peeta, but taller and with shorter hair greeted them when they walked in. It had to be his brother.

"Peeta!" The man with blonde hair and blue eyes just liked Peeta's exclaimed when they walked in the door "Wow, I haven't seen you in forever! Who's this?" He asked with a smirk, elbowing Peeta in the side causing him to snicker.

"This is Katniss, Katniss, this is my brother Devon." Katniss reached her hand out to grab his and shook his strong hand. He offered her a warm smile similar to Peeta's and welcomed them to take anything they wanted from the bakery. 

They both walked into the bakery to an area at the back where there were bookshelves that lined the back wall with two plush couches that were across from eachother with a small table in the middle. Katniss set her purse and jacket down on the couch, Peeta carefully sat down across from her.

"I didn't expect it to be like this, it's nice." She complimented, noticing the nice decor and cozy feel about it. 

"Thanks," he smiled. "I was thinking instead of sitting here eating something from earlier today, we could maybe bake something in the back?" he asked, his voice raising at the end of the question.

"I don't know if I'll be good at baking, but I'm up for it." She laughed, she followed him into the back through the doors leading to a large room with stainless steel stoves and ovens, it was tidy and everything was in good shape. It was the most beautiful kitchen she'd ever seen. Everything was set up so that it was easy to grab. The set up was practical and clean, she wasn't keen on the idea of baking or cooking before but now it was a different story.

Peeta handed her an apron, tying it around her neck so that her dress didn't get dirty. 

"Wouldn't want to ruin the beautiful dress you're wearing tonight." he smiled. Katniss blushed and reached up to peck his cheek. It was daring, but after everything they'd done tonight she felt like it needed to be done. 

"That was nice." Peeta leered. The look on his face after she'd done it was pure shock, but he seemed to enjoy it enough, and it was nice for her too. Now she just needed to tease to get what she wanted.

"Yeah? Well we'll see if you deserve more later after I try this baking of yours." She purred, Peeta grabbed her hand and dragged her over to the counter where all the ingredients were set out in front of the both of them. Katniss had no idea what half of them were, and couldn't take a guess of what they were baking.

"I thought red-velvet cupcakes were a good idea."

"I've never even tried to bake cupcakes, so you're going to have to show me how." She smirked.Katniss had never even attempted to bake before. Prim had often made things in her small easy-bake oven growing up, but it all tasted vile in the end. 

Peeta starting mixing the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in one bowl and then setting it off to the sound. She watched his hands work, he sure looked like he knew what he was doing. There was no recipe in front of him, it was all by memory. 

"You mix everything in to make the batter now." He passed her the large bowl and the electric mixer. Katniss stood there at first, not knowing what to do, when finally Peeta showed her the switch on the mixer, which turned it on. Katniss flicked the switch on, and the bowl, it starts off slow. Peeta gives her a nod, indicating to her that she's doing it right. The batter turns a dark pink color from the red food coloring they added in.

"This look okay?" She asked him, she was unsure what it was supposed to look like in the end. The batter was smooth so she figured she had mixed it enough.

"Perfect," He smiled "Look's as good as mine."

"Yeah right Mellark!" She elbowed him in the side, causing a fit of laughter between the two of them.

"For a beginner you're pretty good, though I helped you with most." He smirked.

"Oh stop, can we just get these in the oven?" They did just as she asked, and poured the reddish-pink batter into the cupcake tins and popped them in the oven. 

"You're cute when you bake." He admitted, Katniss' eyes flew up to his blue ones. She blushed slightly and returned to making the cream cheese icing.

"Well, so are you." She admitted. He was, the way his brows furrowed when he was focusing, the way his hands worked and how he didn't have to use a recipe at all and just knew it all.

"Really?" He asked, he seemed shocked that she'd say this but it was honest. It was daring of her to say such a thing when it was only their first date and she didn't talk to guys that way, but something about it felt right. She was being flirty and he seemed to like it.

"Puh-lease, you've heard it before." She scoffed while mixing the cream cheese icing.

"Very true." He smirked. Katniss rolled her eyes laughed at his response.

"How many girls have you dated before?" She asked him meekly. There had to be plenty, he was irresistable.

"Two." He told her. She was shocked, he was 21 years old and he'd only dated two? 

"How can that be, I mean you're well... you're so charming and sweet and well...handsome." 

"I haven't always been this way you know." He sighed

"What do you mean?" She asked, What did he mean 'He wasn't always that way' what was he like before?

"Well when your family works at a bakery what do you think I was like as a kid." He chuckled as he set the bowl of finished cream cheese icing to the side.

"Chubby Peeta would be cute too." She assured, she imagined a pudgy blonde haired blue eyed boy helping make cakes and cookies. The thought made her smile, he certainly did a good job of losing weight.

"Well, it got to the point where I was bullied about it, so I decided to join some sports teams and work on becoming fit, and it's payed off." Katniss' heart sank when he told her he was bullied. Why did weight matter? If he was as sweet and kind as he was now why was weight such an issue? She pushed the subject of bullying off of her mind and stood up on her tip-toes and gave him a peck on the nose, he didn't do anything more, but accepted it. She wanted to wait until the right moment to actually kiss him. As much as she wanted to now, she knew she had to wait for the right moment.

"Well, I don't see why your weight then would matter," She encouraged "I was bullied too as a kid, everyone has been, don't worry so much about it." Peeta gave her a weak smile. Katniss could see that he was uncomfortable with the current conversation. While they waited for the cupcakes to bake in the oven, she moved into his side. His arm wrapped around her shoulders, and his hand rubbed up and down her arm. 

"You know, I could get used to this, I mean...us." Peeta admitted shyly. She could too, easily. Peeta was kind, sweet and charming. He was patient, free spirited and definetly handsome. She never could have thought she'd get the opportunity with someone like him. He was almost the complete opposite of her, but that's what she needed in her life. Someone to keep her grounded.

"I could too." She grinned. She looked up at him, still standing with him, his arm wrapped around her. They both gazed longingly into eachothers eyes, and soon enough Peeta leaned down and kissed her right on the lips. Katniss was shocked at first, but soon her lips melted with his. His lips were soft and warm, and fit perfectly with hers. The feeling made her heart race, his lips against hers felt absolutely incredible, and she longed for more. He soon pulled away, and then planted another quick peck on her lips. 

"I've wanted to do that since the day I met you." He admitted. Katniss nodded her head in response and leaned in for a third kiss. It was quick, and not as passion filled as the first one, but even a quick kiss like that made butterflies form in the pit of her stomach.

They were interrupted by the high pitched beeping of the oven, indicating that their red velvet cupcakes were finished and ready for frosting. Peeta pulled away from Katniss and moved towards the oven across from them and pulled out 6 perfect red-velvet cupcakes. 

"We'll just have to let them cool for a while so the icing doesn't melt on them." 

"I'm fine with that," Katniss grinned, and kissed him on the lips again. Peeta returned the favour, planting another on her mouth and then on the cheek. The feeling of his lips on her was the most amazing feeling in the world right now.

Once the cupcakes were done cooling, Peeta and Katniss both pulled out the tube of cream cheese icing they'd made. 

"Just squeeze the bag like this." Peeta instructed, Katniss followed his instruction and squeezed the icing out of the bag, and made the icing wrap around itself. She did better than she thought she would have. Peeta's looked absolutely perfect, putting her cupcake to shame.

They both walked out of the kitchen and into the seating area where her things were. 

"This is the best cupcake I've ever tasted in my life." Katniss let out a moan as she took a second bite of her cupcake. Everything about it was heavenly.

"I can see you're enjoying it," Peeta smiled at her "You've got something on your face." He pointed out while laughing at her. Katniss laughed along with him and wiped the icing off of her face with her napkin. They both enjoyed the silence of the bakery. It was well after nine, meaning the bakery was closed, but Peeta still had access with the key he carried around with him.

"Should we get going?" He asked. They had both finished their cupcakes, and had talked some more after about work, the whole date had turned out perfectly. Katniss nodded in response and slipped on her light jacket and grabbed her purse. Peeta reached for her hand and she gladly accepted, intertwining her fingers with his.

"Thanks for tonight," She told him, she had really enjoyed herself, and it had ended up being one of the best nights of her life. "I really enjoyed it." She finished. 

Peeta grinned while he faced the road of the drivers seat "I'm glad, I had a really great time with you as well." 

They both drove in silence. It was now getting darker and darker every night as they moved more into the season of fall. The orange leaves around them blew gently, there was a light breeze that night, which was good since it wouldn't be too hot.

They reached the apartment complex and parked underground. Peeta pulled the leftover cupcakes from the back seat and carried them in his hands. They trekked up the four flights of stairs before reaching Katniss' room.

"Thanks again," Katniss smiled at him "It was the perfect night, and you weren't kidding about being a baker." She giggled. 

"Well I'm glad you enjoyed it. We should do this again." He offered, Katniss nodded. He leaned in for another quick kiss, and then gave her one on the forehead. Katniss blushed and tugged on his jacket, giving him another quick kiss on the lips.

"Goodnight Peeta." She breathed, Peeta waved goodbye and pulled her in for a long hug before he returned to his room again.

 

Thanks for reading! The amount of reviews I'm getting on this is unbelievable! You guys are amazing and I wouldn't be writing if I didn't have you guys. This should be the regular length of the chapters from now on. It took me a couple days to write, I've been busy busy lately!

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Again, thanks for reading! Leave reviews as well (: it'll make my day and makes me want to write more for you guys! :*


	5. Chapter 5

After her date with Peeta, and getting to know him and his background, Katniss knew, she knew she was in love with him. The way he kissed her was absolutely perfect, the way he had given so much thought into their date was perfect. He was perfect. She had no option but to tell Johanna, who was one of her best friends. She knew Johanna would be more than willing to listen.

"What is it this time Brainless?" Johanna answered dryly.

"Well... I have a feeling you're going to want to hear about it." Katniss laughed, holding the phone between her ear and shoulder while feeding the mangy orange cat at her feet. 

"Mmhmm, spill Everdeen." She demanded, Katniss was hesitant. She decided that telling her in person would be best instead of over the phone.

"Well how about we meet up and I'll tell you." Katniss offered, hoping Johanna would accept.

"Fine," Johanna huffed "Where are we goin'?"

"Mockingjays?" 

"Sure seven o'clock don't be late, brainless." Johanna chucked. 

Katniss hung up the phone and quickly and headed for the bathroom where her small white-tiled shower awaited her. The hot water streamed onto her dark brown locks and down her back, enveloping her body in warmth. 

Once finished washing and drying her hair, and putting on a small amount of makeup before slipping on a pair of jeans and a black V-neck t-shirt. She grabbed her purse, slipped on a pair of converse and was out the door in a matter of seconds.

In front of Mockingjay's stood Johanna, who looked annoyed as usual. Katniss quickened her pace as she walked toward her.

"Didn't think you'd show up, Brainless." Johanna chuckled, pulling Katniss in for a quick hug before entering Mockingjays. They found a tall round table with two bar stools on each side. The both of them found their seat and got settled and ordered a pitcher of beer to share amoungst themselves.

"So what were you going to tell me about?." Johanna smirked as she poured the cold beer into the tall glass in front of her.

"Well..." Katniss started, unsure of how to tell her. She didn't quite know to classify her and Peeta's relationship, yes they had kissed, but that didn't mean they were dating. She'd only known him a week, and been on one date with him, so she figured the word "boyfriend" wouldn't be the right term to use, although she wished she could call Peeta her boyfriend. The thought made her cheeks redden.

"Oh c'mon Everdeen, spit it out!" Johanna demanded. Katniss took a quick sip of the cheap beer, before continuing.

"I met a guy..." Katniss told her meekly. Johanna's eyes widened in shock.

"You're serious? Oh my god, Katniss Everdeen found a date!" Johanna exclaimed excitedly with a chuckle. Katniss laughed in response, tables near them turned to them but Katniss didn't pay them any mind.

"So what's his name?" Johanna asked with a smirk "Is he hot?" Katniss continued laughing at her friends reaction before answering.

"His name's Peeta," Katniss told her "And yes, he's very handsome." she blushed, bringing the cool glass of beer up to her lips again.

"Oh really now? Got any pictures, or do I need to stalk his facebook?" Johanna teased. Katniss' eyes widened at the thought of Johanna stalking his facebook, although she didn't know if he had a Facebook account or not. She quickly pulled out her phone and searched for the picture that he had sent her that morning. 

"That's him." Katniss told her, pointing to the picture of him on her small screen. Johanna tore the phone out of her hands and brought the phone closer to her face.

"You're serious? You scored him?" Johanna let out in pure shock. Katniss nodded her head with a wide grin on her face. 

"So where did you guys meet?" Johanna asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I bumped into him." Katniss told her nervously, cringing at the memory "He was walking up the stairs and I was heading down for a jog and I bumped into him." Johanna bursted out laughing in response, making her feel worse about it, but if it hadn't happened she'd probably never gone on a date with him.

"Of course that's how it happened." Johanna teased, she was right. Of course she met him making a feeble mistake. 

"He was moving in, and I knocked the box he was carrying out of his hands as well." Katniss admitted with a chuckle. Johanna just started laughing more.

"He was moving in?" she asked, her eyebrow raised.

"Yep, he's on my floor, actually." Katniss laughed.

"Well lucky you, you can give him a booty call whenever and he'll be at your door within seconds!" Johanna teased and then bursting into a fit of laughter. Katniss eyed widened in shock at her friends crude response.

"Oh c'mon Everdeen, lighten up." Johanna told her with a pat on the shoulder, Johanna grabbed Katniss' glass from her and filled it up to the top with a grin. Katniss stole the glass from her taking a large gulp.

"There 'ya go!" Johanna hollered, Katniss already felt better after finishing her second glass, and poured another.

"So what does he do?" Johanna asked her before re-filling her beer glass again.

"He's an art teacher at the elementary school here, and his family owns the bakery in town, Mellarks." 

"So he paints and bakes...hmm, not what I was expecting." Johanna told her.

"Me either." Katniss agreed, she never would have thought she'd find herself with someone as sweet and good-natured as Peeta. People had always told her she'd end up with Gale because they were so alike, but they were both too stubborn to ever be together, and dating her long time best friend would be too strange for her.

The two of them caught up and moved onto the topic of work. They wrapped up the conversation and said their goodbyes before heading home. Katniss half-walked half-stumbled to her apartment, it was only a couple blocks from Mockingjays. She felt light-headed and everything around her was fuzzy from having too much to drink. She made it to the doors of her apartment, and once inside she realized she'd have to hike up the four flights of stairs. She stood there for a moment before heading up the first flight. Why the hell would someone make a four level apartment with no elevator. Katniss thought, it made her angry that it was so inconvenient. It was the only apartment she could afford and of course, it had no elevator.

She finally reached the top, her eyes were bleary from exhaustion. She trudged down the long narrow hallway where she reached the door to her room. She was relieved that soon enough she'd be able to crawl up into bed and get some rest. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Katniss woke up to the familiar sound of her phone indicating she had a text message. Katniss groaned and rolled onto her side to grab her phone off her end table. 

Katniss' eyes squinted trying to read the screen, her vision still off. Finally, she could see clearly

10:47 Text from Peeta: Good morning (: 

Katniss smiled and quickly replied asking him what he was up to for the day, hoping that they'd get to see eachother. She pressed send, and changed into a pair of baggy grey sweatpants and a tank top after realizing she'd fallen asleep in what she was wearing the night before.

She slipped on her black-rimmed glasses that she rarely wore and shuffled into the kitchen where she put on a pot of coffee to boost her energy.

A knock on the front door startled her, she wasn't expecting anyone, she gingerly walked towards the door and opened it to see Peeta standing there with a brown box in his hands. He smiled widely at her and opened up for a hug, Katniss didn't object and walked into his strong arms and offered a smile back.

"I figured I'd bring you something to eat this morning." Peeta told her, handing the small brown box to her. Katniss gave him a questioning look, but then opened the box to reveal two delicious looking bluebery muffins. 

"Oh my God, those look delicious, " She smiled at him meeting his gaze "Thank you." She told him giving him a peck on the cheek. They both moved to the couch and ate their blueberry muffins while drinking coffee. The day was already starting out perfectly. 

After they finished, Katniss turned on the TV and curled up onto the couch where Peeta joined her.

"What do you want to do today?" Katniss asked him and scootched over to where he sat.

"Lie here with you." He told her openly, Katniss was happy with the answer because that's all she wanted to do as well.

"Okay." She replied snuggling into him. They both watched trashy reality TV all morning before Katniss felt herself drifting off to sleep again in Peeta's lap. She had been so tired the night before and hadn't had the best sleep. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She woke up to the sound of her front door opening and then closing. She couldn't recognize where she was at first, but then remembered she'd fallen asleep on the couch with Peeta. The thought made her blush, but at least she hadn't woken up when he was sleeping. 

"Sleep well?" Peeta asked as he headed towards where she lay on the couch.

"Mhmm." Katniss groaned while positioning herself so she was facing him.

"I picked up some pizza while I was out." 

"That sounds like a good idea right now." Katniss yawned and scootched up so that she was facing the TV in front of them where a baseball game was playing on TV. She was already starting to feel woozy. Her weekends usually consisted of eating and napping anyway, but this time she had someone to be lazy with. At the end of the week, the weekend was nothing special, just a time to catch up on some much needed rest from a week of working.

Katniss found herself getting bored after they'd finished their pizza, the empty box lay open on the table in front of them while they sat on the couch. It was now reaching nine, and she had no idea what was happening on TV, not knowing much about baseball in the first place. Soon enough, she'd curled up on the couch and fallen asleep for the second time that day. She had been awfully tired from the night before and a full week of work but she couldn't stay up much longer no matter how hard she tried. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Katniss?"

"Katniss?! Katniss wake up!" She heard faintly. Her mind was racing, thoughts of her mother and fathers death flooding her mind, terrible things happening to the two of them. She couldn't be pulled from sleep, she was stuck in the horrible nightmare and couldn't escape it. She thrashed around on the couch, waking up Peeta beside her and causing him to worry for her. Peeta wrapped his arms around her trembling body, and pulled her to his chest stroking her long brown hair that he loved so much. Katniss still thrashed around inside his arms, but after whispering calming words into her ear, she had gone still.

Katniss opened her eyes slowly, panting and gasping for air. The dream had replayed in her head, nightmares happened all the time after her parents died and she was left to face them alone. Instead, this time she was wrapped tightly in Peeta's strong arms. Once she had realized where she instantly felt calm. He whispered words of comfort in her ear, telling her everything was going to be okay, that her dream wasn't real and that she was safe with him.

She wiped the tears from her eyes, and looked up to see bright blue ones gazing down at her. She didn't know what to say to him, she had been so frightened before, so scared to fall asleep because almost everytime she awoke to a horrible nightmare that made sobs wrack her body. She wished she wasn't this way, she wished she could stop grieving over her parents, but she simply couldn't. They had meant too much to her like any parent should and ever since their death she'd had sleepless nights that were filled with sobbing and loneliness. The dream she'd had felt so real, like all of them. Sometimes she couldn't escape them, and was forced with the awful images playing in her head. This time, Peeta was there at her side holding her tight and comforting her. She couldn't find anything to say but "Thank you."

"Are you okay now?" Peeta asked meekly, he still held her in his strong arms. Katniss nodded and buried her face in his white T-shirt.

"Does this happen often?" Katniss nodded, her face still buried in his shirt. It smelt of cinnamon and sugar, it was absolutely heavenly. Her tears stained his shirt, she felt bad at first but then moved on to not caring. He stroked her back as she cried, she had felt awful about crying in front of him, she never cried in front of anyone.

Katniss finally felt ready to talk, his questions weren't answered fully and she was ready to tell him more and open up to him. He needed an explanation obviously, as to why her nightmares happened. 

"I had a dream about my parents..." Katniss started, lifting her head from his shirt "I've had nightmares every night since they passed away three years ago." She explained, her eyes still red from crying and her voice filled with anguish. 

"I'm sorry, I wish I could have woken you sooner." He told her, a look of sorrow filling his eyes.

"You did everything you could," She uttered, "I'm just glad you're here." 

"I am too." He replied before planting a kiss to the top of her head. Katniss' cheeks turned a shade of red, but she hid it and snuggled into his chest again. 

"It's getting kinda late, do you want me to go? I mean, I don't have to..." He told her

"No, stay." With out objecting, Peeta and her back on the couch snuggled into one another and slept throughout the rest of the night in the comfort of eachothers arms. It had felt strange at first, having him already sleep the night with her, but he was simply being kind and looking out for her. There was nothing sexual about it. That night, there were no more nightmares.

 

Thank you for reading! I'm sorry this took a while to update, but this past week has been kind of hectic for me and I didn't have the time! I apologize. 

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a review below, or on tumblr at radiantxasxthexsun.tumblr.com. You can ask questions on tumblr simply by going to my ask box, I will answer anything! 

I am so appreciative of you guys who leave reviews and follow me. It truly means a lot to me, and I am looking forward to writing more.

Thanks again! Don't for get to review (: I'm on Wattpad and Fanfiction.net as well if you wanna check me out there under the same username.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I'm sorry this took a while to update, but this past week has been kind of hectic for me and I didn't have the time! I apologize. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a review below, or on tumblr at radiantxasxthexsun.tumblr.com. You can ask questions on tumblr simply by going to my ask box, I will answer anything! 
> 
> I am so appreciative of you guys who leave reviews and follow me. It truly means a lot to me, and I am looking forward to writing more.
> 
> Thanks again! Don't for get to review (: I'm on Wattpad and Fanfiction.net as well if you wanna check me out there under the same username.


	6. Chapter 6

AN:  
Hey everyone! I just want to apologize for the late update. I feel really bad about leaving you guys without another chapter for so long.  
Anyway, I finally had some free time on my hands and I got this chapter finished! All is well, thank you for the kind messages and your concern. Everything is going well, school is just starting up again which is always stressful, but once I ease into the new school year I should be updating regularily.  
Anyway, enjoy! (:  
Katniss woke the next morning, an unfamiliar presence encircled around her small waist. Looking up beside her was Peeta sound asleep. He looked so peaceful, his features were relaxed and his breathing was steady. She wished she could curl up beside him all day. She really could get used to waking up to him every morning, if that were to ever happen. Right now she was happy enough with his arms wrapped around her. She settled into his side even more and let her mind wander. She thought about a future, a future with Peeta. Though they were only in their early stages, and they hadn't even said they were dating yet, she still dreamed about a future with him. No one else but Peeta made her feel as good, not even her young sister Prim, or her best friend Gale. Peeta had a gentleness and sweetness about him that made him so likeable. She only wished she was at patient and well mannered as Peeta was. From what she knew, they were total oposites, but somehow everything was coming into place. She just had to learn how to be patient with him; it frustrated her how she barely got to kiss him without feeling awkward. She didn't know the right thing to say; she didn't know exactly what they were. Hopefully things would soon become more serious between them instead of the flimsy relationship they had going on now.  
She soon felt a stirring beside her that interrupted her thoughts; Peeta shifted at her side, his eyelids slowly opening revealing his beautiful blue eyes. She turned on her side to look at him, a faint smile played across his gentle features.  
"Good morning," Peeta said groggily. His tired voice made her swoon. She eased him out of bed with soft kisses on his cheeks, nose and then planting one on his lips making his eyes widen in surprise. Their kisses deepened, and a spark ignited in the pit of Katniss' stomach. Everything that was happening right now was absolutely perfect. The way his lips melted against hers, and his tongues slipped through her lips made her want more. Of course it wouldn't happen this way, she wanted it to be special. She erased the thought from her mind, and continued kissing Peeta with the same passion. Nothing went further than that, though she had dreamed about it, it couldn't happen like this.  
Katniss soon broke the kiss, panting afterwards, a wild look in her grey eyes. Peeta's expression imitated hers, both two infatuated with eachother to speak.  
"Katniss, you're amazing." He panted, planting another kiss on her lips. Even the smallest of kisses made her feel amazing.  
"So are you." She agreed. She then pulled herself from the couch, Peeta soon following after her. His sweatpants hung loosely on his hips, and his white shirt was tight on his muscular body. His blonde hair was standing up in every direction. Even after he'd just woken up, he looked absolutely perfect.  
"I say we go into town and get some breakfast, on me." Peeta suggested with a smirk. Katniss nodded in agreement.  
"I'll just go get ready quickly and we'll go." She told him quickly before turning on her heel and heading towards her small bedroom. She slipped on a pair of black leggings, a brown camisole and a knit green sweater before putting her hair in her signature side braid. She slipped on a pair of leather combat boots and was was at Peeta’s door down the hall in a matter of seconds. He soon answered the door while slipping on a pair of black converse. He wore a pair of dark jeans, a grey V-neck revealing the bit of blonde chest hair.  
They both walked down the first flight of stairs, their footsteps echoing loudly in the narrow staircase.  
"Remind me why there's no elevator in here again?" Peeta chuckled, his loud footsteps thumping against the old stairs.  
"Because it's an old building, and it has character." Katniss stated. They soon reached the small lobby and were out the glass doors and into Peeta's car.  
They both drove down the road listening to Paradise by Coldplay Katniss singing along without even realizing it.  
"You have a beautiful voice you know," Peeta stated, Katniss' eyes widened and her cheeks turned red in embarrassment. She forgot that she'd been beside Peeta the whole time. She did take after her father, and her father did have a beautiful voice. Every time they'd hunt together, the birds would stop to listen when he sang. It was one of the best memories she had of him. "You don't have to be embarrassed, I'm just telling you what's true."  
"I guess I take after my father," She told Peeta shyly, "The birds would stop to listen when he sang." She said sadly recalling the memory of her father. She missed him terribly; she was too much like her father, Prim like their mother. Her mother wasn't there for her and Prim as much as Katniss' would have liked her to be, but her fathers undying love for his children made up for her mothers lack of parenting skills. She was always busy with work at the hospital, and left little time to spend with her children. Her father was everything to her mother, and it seemed as though he mattered most. She did love her children, she knew that, but her father had always held an even more special place in her heart. She was glad that they'd died together at least, she had no idea what her mother would do without her father.  
"I didn't mean to bring up old memories." Peeta told her soothingly, placing his hand on her shoulder as she stared out the passenger window, staring off into the trees at the side of the road, thinking of her past. Everything was fine before her parents died, she couldn't have asked for a better life. Though they had little money, she lived with a loving family but that had all been shattered in one night.  
"It's fine really, they're good memories." She assured him. The feel of his large hand on her small one offered her more comfort than he probably thought it would. Bringing up her deceased parents was tough, but she was strong enough now to not break down.  
Soon enough, they arrived at Sae's Pancake House. Greasy Sae she was known as, made the best pancakes in town. Seeing the sign in front of her made her mouth water already, she hadn't been here since she was younger.  
They both walked into the bustling restaurant, reserving a table for two.  
"Booth or table?" The tall and skinny blonde host asked the two of them. Katniss noticed the blonde waitress eyeing Peeta flirtatiously. She suddenly grew tense, she was jealous of the beautiful waitress. Peeta could probably get a girl like her any day, and was probably swooning over her right now and forgetting Katniss was beside him completely. He's here with you, not her. She reminded herself. She intertwined her and Peeta's hands to show the waitress he was hers.  
"Booth please." Katniss told her, forcing a smile. She planted a kiss on Peeta's cheek as well as the host looked at the two of them before leading them to a booth at the side of the room.  
"Were you getting jealous back there?" Peeta asked mischievously with a chuckle.  
"No, why would you think that?" Katniss uttered, her cheeks flaming red. Peeta looked at her and started laughing hysterically. Katniss was confused as to why he was laughing, it made her mad that she didn't have a clue.  
"I think you were," He told her "Katniss, I'm not interested in anyone else but you." He assured her. She immediately relaxed at his words. She had no idea why she was so worried, Peeta was as loyal as a Golden Retriver and she never would have thought he'd cheat on her or anything. He could do so much better though, he could have someone successful and beautiful but instead he chose her, a boring girl, who didn't feel beautiful or feel successful with anything she'd done.  
"Really?" She asked him, still astonished by his answer.  
"Really." He confirmed and leaned across the table for a short kiss.  
"I mean it," He told her "I really, really like you Katniss so much that I want to call you my girlfriend." Peeta explained. Her eyes widened in shock, did he really just ask her to be his girlfriend?  
"I feel the same way," She told him, "I'd really like to call you my boyfriend." She smirked.  
"Well then, I guess it's official now." He beamed. "I wanted to tell you for a while now, I knew the first day I met you. I know it's crazy, but something about you drew me to you." Peeta said enthusiastically. "I know it's only been a few weeks, but I don't want to wait any longer. I know I want to be with you."  
Katniss' eyes welled up with tears, tears of joy. He had such a way with words, he made everything in this moment perfect.  
"This isn't the most formal way to tell you how I feel, but I don't care. I needed to tell you."  
"Peeta, I feel the exact same way. I really want to continue with our relationship and I've never felt so sure in my life that I'd want to be with someone. But I'm positive we're meant to be together." She explained, a feeling of relief spread over her. She was glad she had shared her feelings, she wanted to tell him before, but didn't know how.  
"I'm so glad I got to tell you, and that are feelings are the same for each other." Peeta sighed a breath of relief. She was glad too, and she didn't regret a word she said.  
Soon enough, Katniss and Peeta's Pancakes arrived, hers with strawberries and whipped cream on top, Peeta's plain and simple with butter and syrup on top of the 4 perfectly stacked pancakes.  
"So, I'd really like to meet this sister of yours." Peeta told her.  
"I have a feeling she'd like to meet you too, I haven't even told her about you yet." She smirked before taking another bite of her pancakes.  
"Thanksgiving, we'll meet each others families, now that we're serious I guess." Peeta suggested, Katniss couldn't agree more. Though she dreaded meeting his mother, from what Peeta had explained to her, she seemed like an awful person. She had abused her own children without anyone knowing. The thought made her stomach clench.  
"I know what you're thinking," He frowned "My mother isn't it?"  
"Well yes, I just don't know what she'll think of me, I mean I'm not a University student like you, I don't have a good job like you, I'm not rich like you." Katniss explained nervously.  
"Katniss, what my mother thinks of you doesn't matter. All that matters is what I think of you, and I know I want to be with you." He assured her, brushing his lips against her knuckles.  
"Okay, I'll go." She smiled; Peeta beamed in response and pecked her on the cheek afterwards.  
After their breakfast was paid for, the two of them slipped back into his car and drove through town for a while.  
“Why don’t we stop in the woods a while, just out of town.” Katniss suggested. It was a beautiful day after all, and it seemed like a shame to waste it. The morning fall air was crisp, and the sun was just beginning to shine.  
“That sounds like the perfect idea.” Peeta told her, their fingers soon intertwined as they drove down the road that would lead them to Katniss’ most favourite place.  
They had arrived twenty minutes later; the autumn leaves blew by gently as they walked hand in hand through the woods on a dirt trail.  
“This is where I went with my father to hunt,” Katniss explained “Those days were my favorite days.” She smiled sadly.  
Peeta walked towards her to bring her into a warm hug. His body was warm against hers. She immediately felt the comfort she needed. She hadn’t been to the woods in so long, it always brought her so much pain, but she knew that if she went with Peeta, he would keep her grounded. He would comfort her if she broke down.  
“I haven’t been here in what seems like forever,” She said softly as she walked slowly through the trees and then settled on the ground “After my dad parents died, I couldn’t come here, it reminded me too much of my dad.”  
“So why are you choosing to be here now?” Peeta asked, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.  
“Because I know I can be strong with you here.” She smiled, her lips soon met with his and the spark that she’d felt with him before ignited inside her again. It felt so right. When he kissed her, nothing else mattered but that. He was her rock; she never depended on someone so much after her parents passed.  
“Well I’m glad, because I’m stronger with you here too, that’s how we worked out.” Peeta says, “That, and you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever laid eyes on.” He smirked, catching her lips with his again, this time with more passion than before.  
They continued their stroll through the woods for a good while; she showed him the lake that her father taught her and her sister to swim in when they were young. She showed him where they’d store their bow and arrows. Instead of the pain she expected she’d feel she felt comfort. All the good memories of her and her father were when they would spend a day out in the woods together.  
Their feet dangled in the cool water, the sun shone down on them. The entire day spent with Peeta was perfect.  
“Katniss?” Peeta asked as he got up from his laying position on the grass.  
“Mmhmm?” Katniss hummed, her eyes closed enjoying the sound of the birds singing around her.  
“I love you.” Peeta confessed. Katniss shot up from her spot on the ground her eyes widened with his confession; she didn’t know what to say. Did she love him? Were the feelings between them real?  
“Peeta I…” She trailed off feeling nervous “I love you too.” And with that their lips met instantly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading guys! I love all of you who take the time to read and review this story, and I’m so excited to write more and hear from more of you! Leave me a review if you enjoyed it or if you have any suggestions or questions, I don’t bite! I’d be happy to answer.  
> I’m on tumblr at bakerswiife.tumblr.com, you can ask questions there too if you’d like. I am also on Fanfiction.net and AO3 if you prefer reading on either of those sites. I am so excited to hear from you, and I promise the next chapter won’t be so much of a wait. Thank you for having so much patience I truly appreciate you guys sticking with this story.


	7. Chapter 7

She couldn't believe the words that had just come out of her mouth. She had just told Peeta she loved him. This was so unusual for her, she had never thought those words would come out of her mouth like that, but what she felt was true. She loved Peeta Mellark, and though she swore she'd never love anyone else since her parents died because she felt like anyone and everyone she ever loved drifted away, just like her parents did and like Prim who was now miles away. She was the one person she was absolutely certain she loved, and she was starting to feel that way for Peeta. He held a special place in her heart, he brought out the best in her, something she never thought she would see again. Happiness and hope. Hope for a better life, one not filled with misery like the life she had previously held. When she was with Peeta, everything felt right, she felt happiness, finally.

She was lost in her thoughts, her body still lay in the meadow beside Peeta. Her head was in his lap, and his hands mindlessly fumbled with her brown locks that she chose to leave down just for him because she knew how he preferred it down rather than in it's usual side braid. 

"You're sure?" Peeta asked cautiously.

Katniss was confused. "Sure about what?" Katniss hummed, her eyes still closed to block the sunlight in her eyes.

"That you love me." Peeta confirmed. His hands stopped playing with her hair causing Katniss to look up at his piercing blue eyes that she loved.

Their eyes stay locked on each other before he looked over his shoulder and shook his head.

"Peeta," Katniss pleaded, sitting up to face him "I'm sure." She told him with a smile before he could become upset. It wasn't a lie, she was certain that what she felt for him was love.

"I am too Katniss, more sure than I've ever been about anyone." Peeta assured giving her a quick peck on the lips. The feeling of his lips on hers made her heart race, even the quickest of kisses.

"Good," She rested her head on his shoulder, enjoying the peace of the wilderness, the place where her greatest memories were held, and where new ones were to be made. "So, how many more women have you dated before me?" Katniss smirked, poking him in the ribs causing an burst of laughter from him making Katniss chuckle as well.

"Just two," Peeta confessed "A girl named Delly when I was seventeen, and another named Lavinia when I was twenty." He reaffirmed. Katniss felt a sudden feeling of jealousy inside her. She knew that he loved her now, but the thought of him being with other women before made her blood boil. She had no idea why she felt this way, usually she wasn't a jealous person but when it came to Peeta, her Peeta, she did.

"Oh," Katniss sighed 

"Katniss, I've never felt something like I feel for you with either one of them," He told her with a peck on the cheek. "I promise you." Her cheeks were tinted a shade of pink with the embarrasment she felt. Again, she had shown him that she was jealous. The second time in one day. 

"I'm sure they were beautiful, I mean you could score anyone you wanted." Katniss laughed foolishly. It was true, he could get anyone he wanted with his handsome face, strong muscles and piercing blue eyes. She didn't even know how she managed to score him.

"Yes, they were," Peeta said, Katniss eyes widened. "But no where near as beautiful as you." Katniss hated when he said things like this because she never could see it herself and never knew how to respond either. 

"How about we head back?" Katniss offered. She didn't know how to respond to his compliment so changing the subject seemed to be like the best decision anyway, they really did need to get going. Peeta nodded, and pulled Katniss to her feet and entwined their fingers together.

They finally reached Peeta's car after their short trek in the woods. It was reaching two o' clock now which still left them time to do whatever they wished for the day.

The familiar tone of Katniss' blackberry sounded, her eyes widened as she recognized Gale's number flashing across the screen. She hadn't heard from him in forever...

"One second." Katniss told Peeta with a weak smile. She felt awful for talking to Gale and leaving Peeta to stand alone as she held the conversation, but she hadn't heard from her best friend in weeks.

"Hey Catnip!" Gale's familiar voice came through the small speaker of her old phone.

"Hey Gale, what is it?" Katniss asked, she really wanted to hear how Gale was, but right now was not the most convenient. She was having the perfect day with Peeta and she didn't want to have to explain Peeta to Gale just yet, it would have to be kept quiet about until a later time.

"Whoa there Catnip, I just wanted to talk to you is that a problem right now?" He asked with a tone to his voice. 

"No, not at all." Katniss recovered her words, sighing afterwards with annoyance. He couldn't have called later?

"I haven't spoken to you in forever, what happened?"

"I've been...busy, Gale." She told him simply, she looked back at Peeta who was strumming his fingers idly on the hood of his car. She felt horrible for ruining their afternoon with the phone call, but Gale wouldn't be impressed if she hadn't picked up. She hadn't talked to her friend in what seemed like forever since she'd been dating Peeta.

"Busy with what Catnip, you're alright aren't you?" His voice sounded concerned. 

"I'm fine, really, Gale don't worry about me." She told him, she heard a sigh of relief from him "I really have to go, I'm sorry, I'll call you later on, I promise I'm just busy right now."

"You better." Gale's tone sounded cold, which wasn't a good thing. She knew she'd get an earful from him later on. She hung up the call quickly and returned to Peeta who still stood at the front of his car, his face looked away from hers. 

"I'm sorry." She mumbled "That was Gale, he's just a friend and-"

"Katniss, it's fine." Peeta assured her with a chuckle. Katniss quickly pecked his cheek and climbed into the passenger seat, Peeta soon followed after starting up the engine of his car.

"Where are we off to next?" 

"Oh, I don't know anywhere really." Katniss sighed looking out the passenger window of the car. The trees flew by as the car drove down the road back into town. She missed the woods already and longed to return to them, hopefully with Gale so she could get some hunting back into her life again. 

"We could go to my brother James' house, I'm sure he'd love to meet you and I was supposed to go over today around now anyway." Peeta suggested.

Katniss really didn't like meeting new people, but she'd have to meet James at one point or another, and she'd already met his brother Michael who made quite an impression.

"He's nothing like Michael, trust me." Peeta chuckled, his eyes focused on the road.

"I guess it couldn't hurt." Katniss told him, Peeta smiled in response and continued down the road that lead into town.

They soon pulled up to a quaint house in an older neighbourhood. The house was white with blue shutters on each side of the windows. It was a fairly well maintained home, the flowerbeds in the front surprised her for it being a younger man's home.

"They'll love you, trust me." Peeta assured her with a peck on the lips before stepping out of the car.

"They?" Katniss questioned, her eyebrow raised. She thought it was just her brother she was meeting. 

"You'll see." Peeta smirked. Katniss was confused, but they were already at the house and there was no going back now. She grabbed Peeta's hand as they walked up the stone path that lead them to the front door of the house that was painted a dark blue to match the color of the old shutters.

After knocking, a man who looked nearly identical to Peeta opened the door, a giggling baby with blonde hair and blue eyes much liked Peeta in his arms. 

"James!" Peeta exclaimed, pulling his brother into a half hug careful not to squeeze the baby between them. He gave the chubby baby a quick kiss on the forehead and smoothed her blonde curls. 

"Katniss, this is my brother James, my niece April and you'll meet Heather soon." He smiled as he tickled April's stomach causing her to break into a fit of laughter.

"James, this is my girlfriend Katniss." James' hand outstretched to reach hers to shake her hand.

"So we've heard." James nodded towards her with a grin. Katniss gave a small smile in return and followed Peeta into their home.

"You never told me that James was married, or that you had a niece." Katniss whispered as she leaned into Peeta's side. She felt slightly offended that he hadn't told her.

"Well, you know now." Peeta smiled back at her. They removed their muddy shoes at the front door and entered their nicely decorated home. Something smelt absolutely delicious and Katniss' stomach grumbled at the delicious smell.

They soon joined April and James in the living room and sat across from them on the couch.

"Heather, Peeta and Katniss have arrived!" James hollered through the house. Soon out of the entrance, a skinny woman with blonde hair came out of the kitchen carrying an assortment of desserts on a tray which she set on the coffee table in front of them, after followed a tray with tea on it. It was just what she was craving.

"Peeta, it's been so long since we've seen you!" Heather cried out, her arms wrapped around Peeta for a quick hug.

"And Katniss, we've heard so much about you!" She smiled and gave her a hug as well which had felt awkward since she'd never met the woman before.

"All good things." Peeta smiled turning to Katniss with a soft chuckle.

"I would hope." Katniss laughed sitting back down on the soft couch beside Peeta.

Heather and James made a beautiful couple, they both had blonde hair and blue eyes as well as their beautiful daughter who looked to be about a year old. April sat on the carpet in the middle of the new couches seeming rather fascinated with a stuffed bunny in her chubby hands.

Peeta smiled down at his niece, and soon scooped her up into his arms and sat back down on the couch. Little April giggled as her uncle tickled her stomach and kissed her softly on the cheek. The sight made Katniss smile, Peeta seemed to do so well with children. He probably wanted lots of his own, which was another reason Katniss was the wrong person for him because she never desired to have children, nor was she fit to ever take care of a child.

Katniss was pulled from her thoughts when Heather had started speaking. "So Katniss, I've heard you'll be joining us for Thanksgiving this year."

"Well, yes I hope." Katniss smiled and looked to Peeta who bounced April happily in his lap, he seemed to be too interested in April to know what everyone else was talking about.

"We'd love to have you, and you know Thanksgiving isn't that far away," She smiled "And I'm sure the rest of the family will love you, Peeta can't stop talking about you!"

Katniss blushed at her comment. "I'd be happy to meet the rest of the Mellarks." Katniss told her with a shy smile.

Heather and Katniss continued to converse, as well as James and Peeta. Katniss really did like Heather and James, they were both down to earth people who were always smiling. April seemed to take after Heather with her constant giggles and bubbly personality. The sight of Peeta and April made her heart clench. He looked so happy with her, and if they were to get married she knew he'd want children. Something she never planned on doing, having children. 

Her thoughts were again, interrupted. "Do you want to hold her?" Peeta asked offering April towards her. She didn't know anything about holding babies, but she couldn't refuse. April beamed at her as she was passed into Katniss' arms. 

"Like this," Peeta showed her, moving Katniss' arm under April's bottom and her other arm cradling her head. Katniss smiled down at the baby who's feet kicked excitedly in her arms.

"I can already tell she's going to be a stunner when she grow's up." Katniss told Heather and James and then looked down at the bouncing baby who was cradled in her arms. She had chubby cheeks and blue eyes the same color as Peeta's were, her hair was curly and blonde and small freckled dotted across the bridge of her nose and onto her cheeks.

"Just like her mother." James smirked looking at his wife in awe. 

Katniss continued cradling the chubby baby who giggled in her arms. Peeta's arm was wrapped around Katniss and his other hand was tickling her tiny feet.

"You're so good at this." Katniss told him.

"Good at what?" He asked as he looked up to meet Katniss' eyes.

"Being with kids, it just comes so natural to you." Katniss confessed smiling at him playing with April.

"Well, I am an elementary school teacher." He reminded her with a poke in the side causing a giggle to come out of Katniss' mouth. April soon joined her laughter as Peeta poked the both of them playfully.

"Do you think you ever want children?" Heather asked her looking at Katniss, Peeta and April in awe.

"I don't know, I never really thought about it." Katniss lied, she didn't want to disappoint Peeta by saying no. Maybe Peeta would change her mind...but really, it was too early in their relationship to be thinking about marriage or children.

"I know Peeta does," Heather said looking at Peeta who's cheeks were red. "You two really do look happy together you know." She spoke softly gazing across at the two of them with a baby in their arms.

"We are." Peeta assured her, giving Katniss a peck on the cheek. Katniss blushed at the show of affection in front of his family, but the feeling of his lips on her skin made her feel at ease.

The five of them continued talking until it reached late at night. Peeta was feeding April her bottle before she would soon go to sleep. She was dressed in a pink sleeper with a little gray bird on the front. She was irresistable. Katniss had never been familiar with playing with babies but she truly loved seeing April and playing with her. Seeing Peeta with her was more enjoyable though, he looked so young and happy playing with his niece that he loved so much. 

Peeta handed a sleeping April to Heather and pecked her on the forehead and brushed his fingers through her golden locks of hair. 

"Thank you for having us, it was really nice meeting you." Katniss told James and Heather who stood at the entrance of their home. She blew a kiss to April who was sound asleep in her mothers arms, James stood close beside.

"It was lovely having you two over, you'll have to pop by again soon." Heather said quietly careful not to wake their daughter.

"We will." Katniss smiled as she slipped on her jacket and shoes. Peeta did the same and gave his brother a half hug, and kissed his sister in law on the cheek.

The two of them exited the house hand in hand and slipped into Peeta's car.

"Is it true you never really thought about having children?" Peeta asked her, his gaze meeting hers.

"I mean, well, I have but..." Katniss trailed off unsure of what to say.

"You looked really happy with April today." 

"I was, really, your niece is sweet, but I don't know I'd ever be ready or fit to have children." Katniss admitted to him feeling shy about the topic.

"I get it," Peeta said sounding defeated "I just always pictured having children one day."

"And you can." Katniss assured him.

"Not if you don't want them." Peeta mumbled.

"Who says it has to be me?" Katniss stated, she already regretted what she said.

"I want it to be you, Katniss!" Peeta told her his voice sounding angry.

Katniss felt tears welling up in her eyes. Why were they even talking about this? They'd barely been dating and they were already talking about children? 

"Peeta," Katniss pleaded resting her hand on his shoulder "We've only started dating, please, let's talk about this another time." 

"You're right." Peeta sighed turning towards the front window of the car. He started the car and sat speechless for a good five minutes.

"You really love your niece don't you?" Katniss asked shyly.

"As much as I love you, which is a lot." Peeta admitted making Katniss' cheeks turn a shade of red.

"I could tell from today." Katniss laughed recalling the memory of Peeta playing with a giggling baby in his lap. She wished she had a picture of them.

"I know it's weird to be talking about marriage and children with you right now, but really I do think about being with you for as long as you'll let me." Peeta said, his eyes serious.

"It is weird," Katniss said "But I do like the thought of it." She smiled towards him causing Peeta to release a laugh causing Katniss' smile to widen. "I do too," Peeta beamed "We'll see." "We'll see." Katniss confirmed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN:
> 
> Hey guys! Thank you so much for reading! I'm sorry it took so long for me to update this chapter I couldn't think of what to write and this idea just kind of came to me spur the moment so I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know by leaving a review, it is highly appreciated! I love all you guys, and thank you for checking up on me to see if I was alright since I hadn't been updating for a month, you guys mean the world to me. Again, I'm sorry for the late update and I promise I will try and be more consistent with updating this story!
> 
> ALSO, I can't believe this has reached over 1,000 reads on Fanfiction.net, AO3 and Wattpad. That's really big for me! I can't thank you guys enough <3 
> 
> If you have tumblr, make sure to follow me at bakerswiife.tumblr.com, you can ask me questions in my ask box as I'd be happy to answer. Thank you again, I love you all and make sure to leave a review or leave suggestions for the next chapter I'd love to hear.


	8. Chapter 8

"I swear to God, I can't find anything to wear!" Katniss shouts from her bedroom, while Peeta has his head in his hands waiting for her to get dressed. He's growing more annoyed by the second because they were supposed to leave fifteen minutes ago.

"I'm sure you look fine, c'mon we're already late!" Peeta sighs, he sits on the couch in a gray button up cardigan over top of a white V-neck shirt which exposes the blonde hair that spreads across his pale chest. His usually messy blonde hair is gelled back making him look even more handsome than usual.

Katniss emerges from her bedroom, her hair hangs in loose curls past heir shoulders and her body clothed with a burgundy knit dress that reaches just below her knees. She had actually felt confident for once with her outfit choice. Peeta had even told her that he'd seen everyday she was growing more and more confident. She knew it was because of Peeta, her rock, the person who always brought out the best in her and never failed to disappoint her. His constant encouragement made her feel better about herself, and encouragement was something she didn't hear often. 

"I'm ready." Katniss tells him meekly as she walks by him as he sits lazily on the couch. 

"Finally," Peeta murmurs. He slowly gets up from his comfortable spot on the couch and joins Katniss at the front door. "You look beautiful by the way." He tells her and plants a kiss on her cheek.

"Sorry I took so long." She murmurs with a weak smile before slipping on a pair of brown knee-high boots over her tights. They both slipped on their warm jackets and headed down the stairs towards Peeta's car.

The winter air was cold and bitter, little white snowflakes dusted the streets and the trees were bare of leaves and the branches were covered in a layer of white snow. It was usual in Panem for it to start snowing in mid-november, this was just the beginning.

Katniss quickly slipped into the passenger seat of Peeta's car. Her hands were frozen and the leather seats in his car made her colder than she was outside. "You're not nervous are you?" Peeta asks, his hand rests on her knee and lightly rubs back and forth to give her a sense of comfort.

"No," She shakes her head "Well, I mean I guess I kind of am." She frowns and looks over to meet his blue eyes.

"There's nothing to be worried about Katniss, I know my father will love you and my brothers are already crazy about you." He assures her while removing a piece of hair out of her eyes and kissing her tenderly on the lips. It isn't a long and lingering kiss like he usually gives, but it's enough to make butterflies rise in her stomach.

"Okay." Is all Katniss can say, she entwines her hand with Peeta's left hand as it rests between the two seats. The drive is quiet and awkward, but gives her time to think about what's to come. She'd remembered him saying that his mother wasn't the most pleasant of people which worried her. 

"If you get to uncomfortable just tell me and we'll leave." Peeta tells her, rubbing his thumb idly against her knuckles. She turns to give him a smile before resting her head against the leather seat humming idly to a song that plays quietly on the radio.

Glancing out the window, she see's the sign that reads 'Merchant Hill' a rich neighbourhood in their small town. She sighs as she sees all the massive homes that pass by their car. She already feels out of place. She'd always admired the houses in Merchant Hill, her and her sister had grown up in the Seam, a poor neighbourhood where crime wasn't unusual. Her house was a small two bedroom home that had barely enough room for the four of them. When she was forced to live with Haymitch it wasn't any better, she still had to share a room with her sister and the house constantly reeked of alchohol. 

"Here we are." Peeta announces as he pulls up to a beautiful home that stands tall in front of them. It has a three car garage with a mustang parked in the front, christmas lights had already been hung perfectly around the windows and from the roof.

"This is where you grew up?" Katniss asks in awe, admiring the massive home.

"Yeah," Peeta smiles and leads her out of the car before locking it behind them. "There's a lot of good memories here." He tells her, a smile is spread across his rosy face. He wraps his arm around her waist and leads her up to the large double doors at the front of the house.

"Peeta, my boy!" Mr.Mellark exclaims before wrapping his son in a warm hug.

"Hey dad," Peeta greets him "Dad, this is my girlfriend Katniss who I know you've been waiting to meet." 

Mr.Mellark reaches out to shake her hand, his warm hand engulfs her cold one. "It's great to meet you, Peeta hasn't stopped talking about you." Katniss blushes in response and is brought inside to the large foyer of the Mellark home.

"Everyone is just in the living room on your left, make yourself at home." Mr.Mellark smiles. Katniss waits for Peeta who's taking an extra long time untying his double-knotted laces on his boots. 

"This place is amazing." Katniss tells Peeta as she admires the large chandelier hanging from the high ceiling, and the polished hardwood under her feet. The furniture is all new and modern, unlike hers at home which are old and worn.

"It's alright, I guess." Peeta chuckles "C'mon, I'll give you a tour after, first I want you to meet my family." He motions for her to follow him into the living room where she sees the familiar faces of James, his wife Heather and April who is being held by an unfamiliar old woman. Michael waves at Katniss and Peeta as they walk into the large living room.

"Nice to see you again." Michael says pulling Katniss and his brother into a hug. 

"You too." Katniss smiles and waves at the rest of his family who is staring intently on the two of them.

"Everyone," Peeta announces "This is my girlfriend, Katniss." He tells them and pecks Katniss on the cheek making her blush grow an even darker shade of red.

"It's great to meet you all." Katniss tells them. Peeta leads her over to the couch beside Peeta and Michael, across from them sits Heather and James and two other unfamiliar faces. April sits on the floor playing with her toys that are strewn across the living room.

"This is my aunt and uncle, Mary and Wheaton." Peeta gestures towards the old couple who sit on the couch across from them "My dad's brother and his wife."

"It's great to meet you," Mary says kindly "You seem like a lovely young lady." She gives a sweet smile and shakes her clammy hand.

"That's right, she is." Peeta tells her proudly. Michael snorts beside them and she's sure he was about to make a snide comment but Peeta elbows him in the ribs so he can't utter a word.

"You guys are so corny." Michael says rolling his eyes before turning to look at the crackling fireplace in the corner of the room.

"At least I haven't been single for the past four years!" Peeta chuckles.

Michael gives Peeta an ugly scowl "It hasn't been four years!" Michael guffaws, "Remember Felicity?" 

Peeta chuckles again "That was four years ago." Katniss begins laughing again, as well as the entire room. She's enjoying herself more than she thought she would.

"Whatever." Michael rolls his eyes and stares angrily at the fireplace again causing Peeta to snicker at his older brother.

"Oh!" Peeta exclaims making Katniss startle beside him "I forgot to introduce you to my mother." Peeta grabs Katniss' hand as he stands up from the couch before leading her to the kitchen.

"I'd watch out if I were you!" Michael hollers from the living room. Peeta rolls his eyes in response "Don't listen to him." He assures.

Mr and Mrs.Mellark are moving about the large kitchen, multiple dishes are spread along the granite counter tops and the whole room smells delicious. 

"Smells good in here." Peeta says before his mother meets his eyes and realizes he's there.

"Oh Peeta!" Mrs.Mellark exclaims "I thought you'd forgotten to say hello." She tells him as she mixes a salad together.

"Sorry mom," He sighs "Anyway, this is Katniss." He tells her and gestures towards her small body.

"Your girlfriend?" She asks him, her eyebrows are raised.

"Yes Evelyn." Mr.Mellark confirms nodding at her. Peeta looks nothing like his mother, and definitely got all of his looks from his father, in fact, all the Mellark boys did. Her light brown hair is pulled into a loose bun at the back of her head, her eyes are brown unlike her sons who all have the same shade of blue eyes.

"Well, It's nice to meet you Katniss." Mrs.Mellark says kindly and nods her head at her as she continues moving about the kitchen. 

"Nice to meet you too," Katniss says back, "You have a beautiful home."

"Thank you, dear." Mr.Mellark says. "Dinner is almost ready, would you mind getting everyone seated at the dining table, Peeta?" Mr.Mellark asks before returning to the oven to pull out a large turkey.

"Sure thing, dad." Peeta says. Katniss follows him out of the kitchen back into the living room where everyone is talking and laughing together. Peeta gathers everyone to sit at the table and scoops up little April and gives her a kiss on the cheek and smiling at her before carrying her over to her highchair that sits near the table.

Katniss finds a seat beside Peeta, the turkey is laid in the middle of the large table as well as stuffing, salad, potatoes and plenty of other delicious looking foods. All of it is making Katniss' mouth water, she's never seen so much food in front of her in her life.

"Help yourself." Mr.Mellark says and gestures towards Katniss to take her first helping of food. Her plate is soon filled with delicious smells that she can't wait to eat.

"So, Katniss, tell me about yourself." Mrs.Mellark asks once everyone has gotten their meal set out in front of them. 

"There's not much to tell." Katniss chuckles "I work at Abernathy's as a bar tender and I have a younger sister named Primrose, that's about it." She says with a small smile.

"Abernathy's, That old place?" Mrs.Mellark asks making Katniss feel embarrassed already. She knows that Mrs.Mellark probably doesn't approve of her sons girlfriend being a poor bartender with no proper education.

"Y-Yeah?" Katniss confirms with her, her voice is unsteady.

"I see, what about your sister? What does she do?" Mrs.Mellark asks after she finishes swallowing her food.

"She's in Medical school, outside of town." Katniss tells her. She's growing annoyed with Mrs.Mellark and how rude she's become to be, Peeta had warned her about this though.

"Medical school, huh. Why aren't you there?" Mrs.Mellark asks. Katniss is growing even more annoyed with Mrs.Mellark by the second but tries to keep her cool to not make a scene.

"I wanted her to go to school instead of me, she deserved it." Katniss states before taking another bite of food and swallowing quickly.

"That's generous, I don't think my boys would ever do that." Mr.Mellark chuckles looking at the three of his sons who laugh in embarrasment.

"You're got that right." Peeta snickers as he takes a sip of champagne.

Katniss feels a sense of relief that Mr.Mellark had said something, otherwise the conversation would have continued to be even more awkward than it already was.

"Where's your family this Thanksgiving?" Mrs.Mellark asks again, being nosy as usual. 

"Well, my parents passed away several years ago, so there's no one I can really spend it with." Katniss sighs, trying not to break down at the memory of her parents. Thanksgiving had always been a happy time for her family, although she felt horrible that her father had to work extra shifts just to put extra food on the table that time of year. After her parents died, nothing special happened on Thanksgiving, occassionally her and Prim would go over to Gale's and have a meal with his siblings, Rory, Vick and Posy and their mother Hazelle who worked so hard to take care of them.

"Oh," Mrs.Mellark says her tone becomes softer than before. "Well that's horrible, I'm sorry to hear that." Katniss was glad she didn't push the topic by asking how they died, or any of the other details. People commonly made the mistake of asking when she told people about her parent's death, but Katniss didn't even bother to answer them because talking about it was too emotional and she hated when others saw her cry.

"It's fine." Katniss says and scarfs down another bite of food. The table is silent for a while after that, classical music plays softly in the background. Peeta rubs Katniss' knee under the table, her hand finds it's way over top of his which gives her a sense of comfort knowing that he's there and that's all she wants. 

The meal is topped off with pumpkin pie, Katniss doesn't think she can eat another bite of food, and the belt on her dress is about to pop. Katniss sits awkwardly as his family talks about nonsense that she doesn't care to hear, she can tell that Peeta is growing tired of the conversation as well.

"Thanks for dinner, it was delicious." Peeta tells his parents before picking up the plates from everyone on the table and bringing them towards the kitchen. Katniss thanks them as well and follows him to help with the dishes. 

"Don't worry about it," Mr.Mellark says, "I've got it." He takes the dishes out of Katniss' hands and begins stacking them in the dishwasher.

"Katniss," Mr.Mellark says gesturing for her to come over to him "I'm sorry about my wife, she comes off a little bit rude sometimes and we didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable." Mr.Mellark says quietly in her ear. Peeta glances over at them and smiles before exiting the kitchen to let them talk.

"It's fine, really. I know I don't have the best job, and I'm not rich but I promise you that Peeta and I are happy together, we both make each other happy."

Mr.Mellark's smile turns even wider than before "As long as he's happy I'm happy, and I can see that he is and I only want the best for him." He tells her "You get that right?" 

"I do," Katniss smiles "Peeta is great, he really is and I won't hurt him like I know he has been."

"I hope so," Mr.Mellark says "I like you Katniss, you're different than the other girls he's dated." He says with a chuckle. "I only want the best for him."

"Thanks, Mr.Mellark." She says, his smile is still wide as ever and his blue eyes stare down at her. Him and Peeta look almost identical.

"Katniss please, call me Rye." He chuckles and turns on his heel to return to washing the dishes.

Katniss smiles in response and turns to meet Peeta who is playing with little April on the ground, he tickles her small body, she's giggling and her face has a look of pure joy and contentment on it. The sight of the two makes her smile grow, which is rare since she doesn't smile this wide often.

"How was the talk with my dad?" Peeta snickers, he gets up from tickling April and stands in front of her.

"It was good," She smiles "I really like your dad, I can see where you get your personality from." She winks.

"Yeah I thought you'd like him, he's a cool guy." He chuckles and wraps his arm around her waist and kisses the top of her head. 

"I can't say I'm too keen on your mom though." She tells him with a light laugh. 

"She could have been a lot worse...trust me." He sighs, he looks over to his mother who is cleaning up the meal from Thanksgiving.

"I can't say you didn't warn me." She reaches up to cup his face in both of her hands and kisses him deeply. She doesn't care that Peeta's family could be watching, she just needs to kiss him and feel his body on hers. 

"That was nice." He breathes and cups her face again and gives her a smaller kiss than before, but the feeling of his lips on hers still excites her. 

"Now how about that tour you were going to take me on?" She asks, elbowing him in the side. 

"Follow me." He says, he grabs her small hand and leads her out of the living room and Peeta takes her down a long hallway where there's three doors on each side of the hall.

"This was my art studio growing up, most of my days were spent in here." He sighs, the room has dark wood panelling, an art easel in the corner, a desk with multiple sketches on it and paintings and drawings covering the walls. 

"You still have your paintings here?" She asks, admiring a picture of what must have been one of his early paintings, it's a picture of a bright yellow dandelion painted on a canvas, on the bottom right corner, the initials 'PM' are scribbled messily.

"Yeah, I like to come in here once in a while when I visit my parents and paint. I have a lot of good memories in here." He smiles looking about at the paintings on the walls.

"I always wished I could draw like this." Katniss sighed still admiring the numerous paintings that were hung neatly on all four walls of the room.

"Would you like me to teach you one day?." Peeta tells her. Katniss nods enthusiastically in response. 

"Remind me to and I will." He says and leads her out of the small room, shutting the door behind him.

Peeta finishes giving her a tour of the house, showing her his old bedroom which is painted the same colour blue as his eyes, even in his room there's more sketches, pictures of beautiful sceneries that a regular teenage boy wouldn't draw. That's what she loved about him, he was different, instead of rough and careless like Gale was, he was gentle and patient and enjoyed everything about life.

They made their way out the door, it was reaching ten o' clock and the two of them were growing tired. Katniss and Peeta said their goodbyes, exchanging hugs with Peeta's family, all but Mrs.Mellark who didn't care to give hugs. Not even to her own son.

The drive home was long, and Katniss felt herself drifting off to sleep before she was awoken and found in Peeta's strong arms which carried her towards the apartment complex. They slowly made their way up the stairs and into Katniss' room where Peeta fixed her and himself a cup of tea. 

"We never said what we were thankful for." Peeta frowned, bringing the steaming cup of tea up to his chapped lips.

"I'm thankful for you." Katniss tells him sweetly, she joins him on the couch and settles her head on his shoulder. Her feet are tucked up under her small body.

"I'm thankful for having a loving girlfriend," Peeta tells her and kisses the top of her head "And for having a healthy family." He finishes. Katniss reaches up to kiss him in a long and lingering kiss. His lips are slightly chapped and he smells of champagne and pumkin pie from Thanksgiving.

"I better get going, I have to get up early tomorrow." He frowns, kissing her lips again.

"Peeta," Katniss whimpers "Stay with me tonight?" She asks.

"Always." Peeta answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I'm so sorry it took me so long to update. There's been a lot going on lately so it's been hard to find the time to write but I promise I will try and update more often. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! I'm Canadian, so we had ours in October, and I was contemplating on whether to write this chapter then or during American Thanksgiving, and I decided now would be better!
> 
> Thank you for reading! Don't forget to leave a review, it means so much to me to know what you guys think. You can also let me know or ask me questions on tumblr! My url is bakerswiife.tumblr.com
> 
> Thank you again! I love you all.


	9. Chapter 9

"What about this one?" Katniss points out, looking at the small tree in front of her. It's tall and slim, and would fit perfectly in her apartment seeing that it's limited on space.

"That one looks good," Peeta murmurs, walking towards another tree, "But what about this one?" He asks pointing to a massive tree that's about seven feet tall and extremely wide.

Katniss huffs and gives him a look of disapproval, "You seem to forget that this is going in a tiny apartment." She tells him sternly. She thought that buying a Christmas tree with Peeta would be an easy task, turns out it's much harder than she thought.

"Right," He sighs glancing at another large tree, "That one will do, I guess." He deadpans.

"You seem so disappointed!" She tells him, looking into his blue eyes that she never tires of staring at. 

Peeta chuckles in response, "I'm not disappointed, I'm just so used to having a big Christmas tree."

"Well, that's because you had a huge place to put one! My apartment is not even a quarter of the size of your family's house." She sighs, picking up the tree and bringing it towards to register.

"I know, this one will be even more special because I'm sharing it with you." He tells her sweetly as he picks up the other end of the large tree.

Katniss' cheeks turn a shade of red. This is the first Christmas she'll be spending with someone other than her sister. Haymitch was always to drunk to even have around during the holidays, so often it was just her and Prim exchanging small gifts to eachother in the living room of Katniss' little apartment.

"C'mon let's hurry, Prim will be getting here shortly and I wanna have the tree up before she gets here." Katniss says as she quickly pays for half of the tree, and Peeta the other half. After Peeta paying for almost everything, she got tired and annoyed and insisted on paying for half of everything they bought together.

The tree is strapped onto the top of Peeta's car, seeing that it's the only place that it will fit. The smell of the Christmas tree is already bringing back memories from hikes in the forest with her father and memories from her childhood Christmases.

The drive is short, but trudging up the stairs with a six foot christmas tree in our hands isn't. We're clumsy and the pine needles are shedding all over the dingy carpet on the apartment stairs. It's not like the carpet was clean in the first place anyway.

Once reaching the door of the apartment, the tree is carried into the small living room and set beside the couch. The tree nearly touches the ceiling, but there's just enough room to put a star on top.

"I'll be right back," Peeta says before kissing Katniss' cheek quickly and heading out the door "I'm just gonna grab some stuff!" He shouts from the doorway.

Peeta had been practcally living in her apartment since he found out about her constant nightmares and it fell into sort of a permanent arrangement. Katniss didn't mind, having Peeta around all the time made her feel safe and it was better than just her and the mangy cat buttercup who barely made an appearance around the apartment unless there was food. Having him there gave her a sense of comfort, there wasn't a night that they didn't spend together wrapped in each others arms. Nightmares were less frequent, and when they did come, Peeta was there with open arms to hold her and whisper words of comfort in her ears. 

A few moments later, Peeta appeared in the doorway with multiple tupperwares, some being pushed by his feet, two being carred in his arms.

"What is all of that?" Katniss asked, peering from the living room into the main entrance.

"Decorations." Peeta smiled as he set down the boxes on the carpet. Katniss rolled her eyes in response, never had she seen so many boxes of decorations in her life.

"I took some with me..." Peeta huffed as he carried another box towards the living room, "...When I moved out." He finished.

Katniss helped carry the other boxes into the living room which was becoming even more crowded with decorations, lights and boxes. "This is only some?" Katniss asked in shock. There were four large tupperwares full of decorations, plus, Katniss had more that she wanted to put up.

"Yeah, most are at my parents house." He sighed, "I'm big on Christmas decorations okay?" 

Katniss chuckled, "I can tell, but I don't know if I'll have room for all of this."

"We'll make room." He grinned, leaning down to open one of the first boxes that had plenty of lights in it to hang up on the tree. He masterfully untangled the bunches of lights and strung them neatly around the tree, making sure that they were arranged perfectly. 

"Wanna grab the box of ornaments?" Peeta asked as he turned his head towards her and pointed to the green tupperware. Katniss wasn't shocked to open it and find it neatly packed to the top with Christmas ornaments. 

"I'll go grab some of mine too." She told him before running off towards the small spare room where all her Christmas decorations were kept. In the room she spotted a picture of Prim, herself and her parents all gathered around their Christmas tree. Tears welled up in her eyes as she admired the picture of her smiling family. She had to be about thirteen in the photo, and Prim around ten years old. Her mothers face was glowing and her father had the same kind expression on his face that she remembered. 

Her thoughts were interupted when Peeta crept into the room, "Everything okay?" Peeta asked meekly looking around the dingy storage room. 

Katniss quickly wiped her tears off her face, hoping he hadn't seen her crying. "Yeah, everything's fine." She whispered, getting up from her spot and carrying the box of Christmas ornaments with her.

Peeta touched her shoulder chasely, "Katniss please, did you hurt yourself, did I do something?" He asked eagerly, a look of sorrow was in his eyes, a look that she couldn't dare see on his face.

"No," She whimpered, "Just, I found some old photos, and I got emotional, I shouldn't be crying." She told him and continued to walk past him and into the living room.

"Katniss, I'm your boyfriend, you don't have to be scared of crying in front of me." He told her sweetly as he followed her into the living room. 

"I know, I just..." She gave up talking and pulled him into a deep kiss, not wanting to let go. His lips felt soft and warm against her chapped ones, the feel of him against her was enough to sustain her. She didn't want any further discussion on it, all she needed was to let him know that she was okay and that she needed him.

"Katniss," Peeta said as he pulled away from her lips, "Just please, don't be afraid to tell me next time." He told her. Katniss nodded in agreement and pulled him in for another passionate kiss again.

Katniss finally pulled away after a good while, it had been a while since they'd kissed like this. With Peeta being busy with his last week of work before Christmas break, they didn't get a lot of time to themselves. "We should get decorating again, Prim's coming tonight, remember?" Katniss smiled and lead him back to the living room after picking up the box of ornaments in her hands. 

"Wouldn't forget it," He chuckled "I'm excited to meet her, she sounds great." 

"She is," Katniss said smiling to herself, "She's almost the complete opposite of me." She sighed, opening the box of ornaments from her childhood. It had been so long since she'd seen Prim. She missed her sister dearly, and longed for her to move back home. 

"We'll get along great then." Peeta smirked as he opened another box filled to the brim with decorations.

"You sure will, you guys couldn't be more alike." Katniss laughs. It was true, Prim and Peeta shared all the same qualities. They both showed kindess and compassion to everyone, they forgived easily and were able to see the best in everyone. She only wished that she were that way, instead she was tough and stubborn, and somehow Peeta loved her for that.

"This one's cute." Peeta chuckled, holding up a handmade ornament from when Katniss was in kindergarten. Her hair was in two braids instead of one, and her two front teeth were missing making the photo even more laughable.

"Hey!" Katniss scowled, "Hand that over, there's no way that's going up." 

Peeta chuckled in response and snatched the ornament back from her and hung it on the tree where it would be visible to everyone. "You were cute! I think it'd look nice right here!" Peeta chuckled again, admiring the photo that hung right in the centre of the tree. Katniss could only give him an evil glare making him laugh even more.

Katniss elbowed him in the ribs making him burst into laughter again. "If it's going anywhere, it's on the back of the tree." Katniss glowered at him. His grin couldn't get any wider, seeing her get mad was funny to him which made her even more annoyed.

"Wait until I find some of you," Katniss said deviously, "You won't be laughing too hard then!" 

"I was a very cute kid thank you very much, and I think having my face on the tree would improve the look of it." Peeta grinned causing Katniss to roll her eyes and walk towards the box to sort through more decorations.

"Garland." Peeta ordered, motioning with his hand for her to pass the silver garland over to him. She watched as he neatly placed the garland around the tree, setting it perfectly on each branch and moving it so that it was set perfectly.

"Now the rest of the ornaments." He smiled. Katniss and him picked up the glassy red balls and hung them neatly on the tree. Peeta perfecting the tree and moving the ornaments around so that it looked perfect. Katniss couldn't care less about where the ornaments were placed but Peeta was a whole different story. Everything had to be perfect. The rest of the ornaments were hung, green and red ornaments dangling from the thin branches of the tree. The whole house smelt of pine and Katniss was finally starting to get into the Christmas spirit.

"Okay, now my favourite part." Peeta exclaimed, walking towards the tree. "Ready?" He asked looking back at Katniss who was amused with his excitement. She nodded her head yes and waited for him to continue.

Peeta bent down and plugged the lights in, red and green hues of light reflected off the tree. It was truly beautiful. By far the best looking tree Katniss had ever had in her house.

"It looks beautiful," She told him, cocooning herself into his side where they both admired the tree that stood in the small living room. Usually Katniss didn't even put up a tree, but this year it felt write. She was spending the holiday with someone she loved.

"Wait!" Peeta exclaimed, running towards one of the other boxes, "We forgot." He smiled, holding up a golden star in his hands. 

"My dad used to lift me and Prim up to put the star on together." Katniss told him, recalling the memory of having her father hoist the both of them up on his shoulders while they carefully placed the star on the top. Before Katniss knew it, she was lifted off her feet and hoisted into the air on Peeta's shoulders. Katniss couldn't stop laughing.

"Here's the star." Peeta said, his voice was falling short of breath from holding her body up for so long.

"Now it's complete." Katniss said as she placed the star carefully on top of the tree. Peeta carefully brought her down from his shoulders and kissed her lovingly on the lips.

Soon after, a knock on the door interrupted them, causing them to break apart. 

"That must be Prim." Katniss says, scurrying away from Peeta and walking towards the front door. As soon as she opens it, she's greeted by her sister. Her hair is done up in a braided bun, and she's holding a black suitcase that looks almost as big as her.

"Prim!" Katniss greets and throws her arms around her sister who eagerly returns the hug and holds it for a long while. It had been so long since Katniss had seen her sister, and with all of Prim's exams, it was hard for her to find the time to visit.

"It's been so long," Prim spoke, still hugging her sister tightly, "I'm just glad I could make it for the holidays." She laughed, finally letting go of Katniss and rolling her suitcase into the house.

"You must be Prim." Peeta smiles, his hand extends towards her to shake her small hand, and she greets him politely.

"Katniss couldn't stop talking to me on the phone about you, everything she said seems true." Prim smirks with a wink towards Katniss. She only rolls her eyes and leads her into the living room.

"Holy-I mean wow!" Prim exclaims as she walks towards the Christmas tree, "You couldn't have done this yourself, Peeta must have done it all." Prim tells her with a chuckle.

"Katniss did a good amount of work," Peeta smiles looking towards her, "But I had to adjust a lot of it." He laughs only making Katniss grow red. It was true, Katniss didn't do much and whatever she did do needed to be perfected, but that was the way Peeta was. He was a perfectionist and what he did looked perfect. 

Tomorrow would be Christmas eve, where Prim Katniss and Peeta would join his parents once again. Hopefully this time wouldn't be as bad as the last and that Mrs.Mellark would be tollerable this time around. As long as she had Peeta there it didn't matter. 

Most of the presents for Peeta were bought, the same for her sister and her Haymitch who would most likely be too drunk to care what it was. The Holidays were never as exciting for Katniss seeing that there wasn't many people she could spend it with, but this year was different. The year was already looking better for her and 2014 would bring something new. 

The year had gotten seemingly brighter since she met Peeta, and she could only hope it continued to be this way. Happiness didn't last long for her, which is why she dreaded this because everyone she loved left her in some way. Her sister moving away, her parents passing away and knowing her luck Peeta would do just the same. That's why she almost refused to let herself love him, but he made it so easy. He was the most loveable person on the planet and everyone could see it. It's ironic that he, a loving and sweet boy, ended up with such a stubborn girl like her. That's how they worked though, she needed him to change her, to realize that things in life could be better, and that's just what he did. Change her to be the best person she could be, and that terrified her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm sorry this chapter was so late, I've been horrible with updating this story recently and I apologize! I'll be posting a Christmas chapter up soon, but I wanted to get one more in before having another major holiday chapter after the other. 
> 
> I just posted a one shot called 'We Remain' make sure to check it out! It's short and sweet but it just popped into my head and I figured why not? Make sure to let me know what you thought on this chapter, I'd love to hear it. Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it and if you don't Happy Holidays! I hope everything goes well for you (: You guys are terrific and I couldn't ask for any better readers.


	10. Chapter 10

Christmas morning came by in a blur, Prim was up at seven o' clock sharp, bursting into Katniss' bedroom, urging her and Peeta out of bed to open presents just like she did when she was younger. Some things never changed. Since Katniss could remember, Prim was always up early to check out what presents had been set up under the Christmas tree, and now that Prim was in her early twenties, nothing had changed, same old Prim.

"I've got coffee set out on the table, c'mon it's Christmas!" Prim urged, jumping up and down excitedly in her red flannel pajamas. Katniss only groaned in response and rolled over and tucked herself into Peeta's side.

"You guys are no fun at all," Prim huffed, "This is the first Christmas I've been excited about in a while!" 

Katniss couldn't argue any longer, she shook Peeta awake and grabbed her robe and was out of bed in a matter of minutes. Her eyes were barely open and her voice was groggy with sleep.

"You better be happy little duck." Katniss said groggily as she passed Prim in the hallway. She noticed how nice Prim had already made the living room, mugs of coffee were set out on the coffee table for the three of them and the pull out couch Prim had slept on the night before was put back, the blankets were folded in a nice pile in the corner. She had to admit, she was impressed.

"Merry Christmas!" Peeta exclaimed. He was in a pair of sweatpants that rode low on his hips, and a white t-shirt that exposed his muscles, seeing that first thing in thr morning had already been a gift in itself. Even after he'd just gotten up, he'd managed to look handsome as ever.

"Morning handsome," Katniss grinned as she gave him a good-morning kiss and encircled her arms around his waist. He was nice and warm, which was nice since her apartment was so chilly in the winter time.

Prim rolled her eyes as she saw the two of them, "Oh c'mon, let's get to the presents already." She mumbled. She still acted like a child when she was in her early twenties.

"I agree." Peeta smiled, pulling away from Katniss and joining Prim in the living room. Katniss soon followed and sipped on her hot mug of coffee that she didn't care too much for, but if it would help her become more awake, she was happy.

The tree had plenty of presents underneath, Peeta had done too much spoiling this year, which she didn't complain about because usually Christmas was lonely and maybe two gifts were exchanged between her and Prim. This year would definitely be different.

"Peeta, you go first." Katniss smiled as she offered a nicely wrapped present towards him. She couldn't wait to see his face when he opened his gift.

"No way!" Peeta said excitedly as he opened the gift, "This is great, you have no idea how much I needed this!" Peeta smiled, still staring at the box of brand new paint brushes and paints set in front of him. He'd been complaining how his brushes were getting old and worn, but now he'd have plenty of new brushes to paint with, as well as paints to test out. Seeing him get excited over her small gift made her grin grow even wider.

"Thank you Katniss, really, you didn't have to." He told her. Of course she had to, she thought. She needed to get him something special to show him how much he meant to her. 

He gave her a long kiss and a hug, causing Prim to look away and tell them to "get a room" but she didn't care that her sister was around. 

"Katniss, you're up next." Peeta smiled as he passed her a beautifully wrapped gift. It was in a small little box which caused her mind to go to places that she wasn't ready for yet. She hesitated opening the gift.

"I know what it looks like," Peeta told her, "But please just open it." He smiled, urging her to open the gift again as he moved her fingers to the ribbon that wrapped around the box.

She discarded the red wrapping paper quickly and untied the bow, in front of her was a navy blue velvet box. She knew it couldn't be a wedding ring, it was just too soon, but maybe it was? With Peeta, anything was possible.

She slowly opened the box to see the most beautiful ring she'd even laid eyes on, she was completely speechless. It was a beautiful gold ring, with a pearl set in the centre of it and small diamonds circled around it. 

"Katniss," Peeta said softly, "I know what you're thinking, but it's not that, similar but...not." He smiled and moved closer towards her.

"Katniss, you know how much I love you, and I want to love you for the rest of my life," He told her as he sat in front of her holding her trembling hands, "I know right now is too soon, but this is a ring of promise, and I promise you that I will marry you some day if you'll let me." He said.

Katniss' eyes were welled up with tears, she was speechless. Completely and utterly speechless. What was she supposed to say? His eyes were confused as they bore into hers, he probably thought she was going to reject him but she couldn't. She could never, especially not with Peeta.

"Peeta," She murmured, her voice was weak because she was close to crying, "Of course I will." She smiled and threw her arms around his shoulders. She was in full tears, her body was shaking and tears soaked his white t-shirt.

"Shh, it's okay." Peeta told her sweetly as he stroked her hair gently. She was happy, but scared at the same time. Everyone she ever loved, she grew away from, and she didn't want that to happen with Peeta. 

"I love you." She whispered into his ear, he only nodded and whispered it back to her as he continued to rub her back softly to comfort her.

Finally, she pulled away and looked into his blue eyes, he was crying too, tears of happiness. Not as much as her of course, but his eyes were rimmed with tears. "You're sure?" He asked her, staring into her gray eyes. 

"Of course I'm sure." She smiled as she wiped the rest of her tears off her face. "I'm sorry, I'm so happy." She grinned.

"So am I." He smiled back at her and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

"Finally," Prim exhaled, "Congratulations Kat, I knew it." She beamed. Prim had grown very fond of Peeta the past few days, and Peeta couldn't wait until she was officially his sister-in-law because he absolutely adored her.

"Okay Prim, I think it's your turn now." Peeta chuckled as he handed her another beautifully wrapped gift. 

Prim quickly tore at the gift to reveal a large jewellery box that was white with small pink primrose flowers on each corner. Katniss smiled at Peeta, because he knew her too well without even asking what she wanted. 

"This is just what I needed, thank you so much!" Prim told him excitedly. She wrapped her arms around him and he kissed her smooth cheek making her face turn a shade of red.

"You're welcome." Peeta told her as he pulled away from her and gathered the bits of wrapping paper that covered the floor.

"Now, I want you two to both open something at the same time." Peeta told them as he handed them each a gift that was unbelievably light.

"Okay, start un-wrapping them in...three, two, one." 

The two of them eagerly tore open the gift, like they did when they were children. Once all the wrapping paper was torn off and carelessly spread about the ground, their eyes grew wide as they each saw what he'd gotten them. 

"Oh my God Peeta." Prim breathed in awe, "I can't believe it, you did this?" She asked, her blue eyes still grew wide in shock from the beautiful gift. Prim's was a picture of her and Katniss sitting in a field full of bright pink flowers, primroses to be exact. They were both smiling wide in the picture. It looked like something that could be sold professionally. Peeta could only smile triumphantly as he saw the look on their faces as they stared at the paintings that took him countless hours to paint.

Katniss hadn't spoken yet, but her face said it all. It was a painted photo of her in the woods, bow and arrow in hand like she used to have. Large trees surrounded her, and the small pond where she had told Peeta he loved him, and where he told that he loved her. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen, besides the ring that was on her left hand. 

"I take it you like it?" Peeta said questioningly. Katniss looked up from the painting and nodded quickly as she threw her arms around him again.

"Thank you," She sobbed, "I usually don't cry this much, but everything you do is so beautiful." She sobbed again into his t-shirt that was soaked with new tears.

"You both deserve it," He smiled, "I couldn't get any luckier having you as my girlfriend, or having Prim here this Christmas, I love you both." He told them sweetly as he still held Katniss in his arms.

"Thank you Peeta, this is one of the nicest gifts I've ever gotten." Prim told him as she threw her arms around him and Katniss as the three of them sat with their arms wrapped around each other. 

"I wish I could have gotten you something more special." Katniss sighed as her head rested on his shoulder. 

"I've got everything I need." He said, kissing the top of her head. It had truly been Katniss' favourite Christmas.

The three continued opening more small gifts, Katniss had got Peeta a new cookware set, and Prim got Katniss a new knit sweater. Prim received a pair of earrings and a lacy white dress from her sister that she absolutely adored. Prim got Peeta a new tie that matched his eyes, as well as a new pair of chuck Taylor's because she saw how worn his were. It had been a successful Christmas and one of the most enjoyable for all of them.

The rest of the morning, Katniss admired the promise ring that was on her left hand. She couldn't believe that one day, Peeta and her would get married. She knew it wasn't as serious as an engagement ring, but at least she knew that Peeta would never leave her side and that she meant as much to him as he did to her. 

French toast, eggs and bacon were made for the three of them, courtesy of Peeta who couldn't wait to make breakfast with his new cookware set. Christmas music filled the entire room, spreading Christmas spirit all throughout. It really felt like Christmas to Katniss, before it had seemed like nothing but a day to her before, but now she understood what a great time Christmas could really be.

In a few hours, the three of them would go to Peeta's parents house to spend Christmas dinner, which Katniss was not excited for as she remembered that the last time had not gone too smoothly. Hopefully this time would be better than the last, and that's what she told herself throughout the morning.

Breakfast was interrupted as her phone started ringing, she saw Gale's name pop up on the screen on her phone. She knew she had to talk to him, it had been ages and she'd almost completely forgotten about one of her best friends.

"One second." She told them as she got up from the small kitchen table, and walked into her bedroom to take the call.

"Hey Catnip, Merry Christmas." Gale spoke through the phone, Katniss only chuckled at the use of her old nickname that he'd given her when they were kids.

"Merry Christmas Gale, how've you been?" 

"Good, except for the fact that it seems like you've completely forgotten about me." He sighed. Katniss could hear the disappointment in his voice, and he had every right to be disappointed with her. They were supposed to be best friends and she only shoved him aside to make room for Peeta.

"I'm sorry Gale, I've just-"

"Yeah yeah, I know you've got a boyfriend now, but don't you think you could send me a text once in a while to tell me how you're doin'?" 

"I know Gale, I'm so sorry, I've just been so busy and I promise we'll get together soon." She told him. She felt terrible for neglecting someone who had been her best friend since she could remember. He'd been there for her when her parents died and helped them get by, and now all she'd done for him was avoid him.

"Well, hope you're enjoying yourself this time of year Catnip, call me when you're free." He told her, his voice was still cold and distant, how it sounded when he was hurt, and that was something she did to people much too often. 

"I'm really sorry Gale, just tell your family I say hello and I'll stop by sometime soon, I promise." She did mean it when she said it, she wanted to see him badly. She missed her bestfriend, too much. She missed their times in the woods outside of town, she missed his family, she missed a lot that they used to do together.

"I will, Merry Christmas, I'll see you soon hopefully." He told her and then hung up the call. She couldn't believe how much she'd forgotten about him, someone who'd been her best friend and apart of her life for too long. She felt awful for it. 

Her thoughts were interrupted when Peeta snuck into the room, "Everything okay?" He asked. Katniss nodded and gave him a quick peck on the cheek and exited the room, not wanting to discuss Gale, her best guy friend with her boyfriend. 

"Katniss?" He asked, he followed her down the hall and into the kitchen where he saw her gathering their dishes and putting them into the dishwasher. "Katniss please tell me, I'm sick of not knowing things around you, you have to trust me!" he pleaded as he grabbed her shoulders and spun her around to look at him.

It wasn't anything that really needed to be kept a secret, but discussing another guy with her boyfriend was never really a good idea. She contemplated for a minute, whether to tell him or not, but if anyone would understand it would be Peeta. He certainly wouldn't be mad, but he wouldn't be happy either. 

"Who was on the phone?" Peeta questioned, searching her eyes to see any hint of emotion from her. 

"It was Gale, okay?" She told him sternly, and returned to putting the dishes into the dishwasher.

"Gale...that's that friend of yours, right?" He asked.

"Yes...he is." She confirmed as she put more dishes from the counter into the dishwasher.

"Why do you avoid talking about him, I don't have anything to be worried about do I?" He asked, his voice growing annoyed with her. This was a tone of voice that she never liked hearing from him, because it always ended in an argument.

"I don't know! There's nothing to be worried about, he's just my friend and I thought you might be jealous or mad that I was talking to another guy, but I don't know how to read people okay?!" She shouted raising her hands in the air. She was getting mad and frustrated over nothing, but it was stressful trying to explain things like this to him.

"Katniss, I'd never be mad okay? I get that he's your friend, just don't avoid the subject next time and just tell me." He said as he took the plate and bowl out of each raised hand and set them into the dishwasher.

She sighed in defeat, "You're right, I'm sorry," She told him, "I just didn't know how you'd act and I was being silly." 

"Do I seem like the kind of guy who would get mad over that? Katniss I trust you okay, I don't have to worry about that kind of stuff with you." He said as he lead her out of the kitchen.

"I trust you too, I just didn't-nevermind, everything I'm saying is turning into a mess, I'm not good with words like you." She chuckled.

"I get it," he said, "Now how about we leave soon so we can go see your friend Haymitch, and then we'll go to my parents house, okay?"

"Okay." She nodded and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, and headed off towards her bedroom. She chose a nice green blouse and a black skirt that reached just above her knees, something that she wasn't used to wearing, but she dressed up to please Peeta's mother who she was sure would judge her on whatever she was wearing anyway. She chose a pair of black heels that she borrowed from Prim and put on a gold neclace to match her gold ring. Her hair was curled and styled nicely for once, and she really did feel confident about herself this time.

Peeta was dressed in black dress pants and a white t-shirt with the new blue tie that Prim had got him that matched his eyes perfectly, and Prim was in the new lacy white dress that Katniss had gotten her for Christmas. 

The three of them headed down to Peeta's car, and were out of the apartment parking lot in a matter of minutes. Haymitch's house was only a few blocks away, and she figured she'd pay the old man a visit since he was most likely alone this Christmas. Her work hours had been fewer and fewer recently since a new bartender was hired and took almost half of her shifts which made things easier for her, and Peeta had a two week break since the kids at school were off.

They pulled up to the small house, snow covered the pathway leading up to his house and was past their ankles, he probably hadn't shoveled his walkway in at least a week. The house already reeked of alchohol from the doorstep.

"I'm not sure if you're gonna like him too much." Katniss told Peeta. It was true, he probably wouldn't but Peeta would be able to tolerate him at least. He was a smelly unkept old man who drank until he passed out.

The door finally opened, and Haymitch's goofy grin greeted them. "C'mon in sweetheart, Merry Christmas." he told her as he gave her a quick hug. He smelt awful, but Katniss moved past it and let Prim give him a hug next. 

"Is this the handsome boy you been talkin' 'bout?" Haymitch asked, looking back to Katniss who was hanging her coat up on the hanger.

"Yes, he is," Katniss smiled, "Haymitch, this is my boyfriend Peeta, Peeta this is Haymitch." 

Peeta took Haymitch's hand and gave it a friendly shake, "Nice to meet you, sir." He smiled as he entered the house with the rest of them.

"She talks about you all the damn time you know, can't get her to shut up!" He cackled as he found his way over to the dingy couch in his living room. It was quite laughable seeing Haymitch, he had always had an annoying sense of humour, and didn't care about embarrassing her or not.

"All good things I hope." Peeta chuckled as he sat across from Haymitch in the living room.

"You bet, you should see her at work, she just doesn't stop when she talks about you!" He hollered.

"Haymitch please..." Katniss scolded, shaking her head in embarrassment.

"Have a sense of humour girl, I'm just kiddin'," He chuckled "But seriously, from what I hear, really does adore you." He added.

Katniss could always count on Haymitch to annoy her to no end, that was just the kind of person he was. 

"So kid, wha'ddya do?" Haymitch asked Peeta as he leaned forward in his seat to get a better listen.

"I'm an art teacher at an elementary school," He told him. 

"A painter eh? You must be pretty good." 

"He's amazing!" Prim bursted out, "No seriously, you have to see some of the stuff he does, it's incredible!"

"Geez, even the younger one's crazy about you," He cackled, "I better see some of your work sometime kid." He told him as he took another swig of alchohol from his flask that he kept in his jacket.

"I'll show you sometime for sure." Peeta grinned.

"He painted some amazing stuff for Katniss and I for Christmas," Prim smiled as she told him, "You should have seen it, it brought Katniss to tears!" She squealed.

"Did not." Katniss muttered.

"Oh c'mon Kat, you know it did, stop acting like you're so tough." Prim teased as she elbowed her sister in the side.

"I might have, but what they're saying is true, it's amazing." She said as she looked up at Peeta and pecked him on the cheek.

The rest of the conversation carried on, Haymitch talking about his stupid geese that he let run free in his backyard, and about work. Finally it came to say goodbye, and for them to head over to Peeta's parents house for dinner.

"Thanks again Haymitch, Merry Christmas!" Peeta called out as he walked out the door. Prim and Katniss give him a quick hug and followed Peeta out the door and towards his car.

"He's quite the character." Peeta chuckled as he started the car. From what Katniss could tell, Peeta liked him, the two of them seemed to laugh about a lot and it was actually enjoyable.

"He really is," Katniss sighed, "You enjoyed yourself I see?" She asked.

"Yeah, he's a fun guy," He smirked, "And you thought I wouldn't like him." He laughed. She was shocked that they got along so well, Peeta was funny yes, but him and Haymitch couldn't be more opposite.

"I guess I was wrong." She laughed as she looked out the window, seeing the large houses in Merchant Hill and wishing that she could have grown up in a house like he did. 

"That's strange," Peeta chuckled, "You just admitted you were wrong for once." 

"Oh shut up." She scolded. He was right, it wasn't often when she admitted she was wrong, but as she had noticed before, she was becoming less stubborn. 

They finally pulled up to the driveway of the house, cars were lined up outside of it. It was going to be much busier this time, meaning there would be more of the Mellark family to meet. She only hoped that they didn't act like Mrs.Mellark.

"Holy smokes, I can't believe this is where you grew up!" Prim exclaimed, "Katniss and I always admired Merchant Hill when we grew up." She sighed. 

The three walked up to the large doors, and rung the doorbell until Mr.Mellark's familiar face appeared.

"Great to see you guys, Merry Christmas!" He exclaimed as he pulled Katniss into a hug and then Peeta.

"You must be Primrose," He smiled, "Come on in, I'm Mr.Mellark, Peeta's father." He said as he gave her a quick hug.

"Indeed I am, but you can just call me Prim," She smiled, "Your house is absolutely beautiful." Prim complimented only making Mr.Mellark's smile grow wider.

"I'm glad you think so dear." He said, "Evelyn, they're here!" He shouted through the house.They hung up their coats and took of their snow covered boots and entered the living area where everyone was seated. Katniss recognized Michael and James, James' wife Heather and April who was babbling away on the floor. Peeta's aunt and uncle were recognizable as well, and the rest of the people she had no idea who they were.

Peeta introduced Prim and Katniss to everyone, some people were family friends, and some were from Mrs.Mellarks family. Her sister Avery seemed much nicer than her, and Peeta's cousins were all nice. It seemed that just Mrs.Mellark was bitter.

Peeta led Katniss and Prim towards the large kitchen where Mrs.Mellark was cooking away, just like she was during Thanksgiving. 

"Mom?" Peeta asked to get her attention. She was too busy humming and scurrying around the kitchen, putting food into the oven and chopping vegetables.

"Mom, Katniss and Prim are here, not sure if you heard earlier." Peeta said a little louder and more stern this time since she hadn't heard him before.

"Oh right," She said as she moved from the counter and walked towards the entrance of the kitchen, "Nice to see you again, and it's good to finally meet you Primrose." She said, giving them a weak smile. Again, there were no hugs, just a smile and a greeting.

"Nice to meet you too Mrs.Mellark," Prim repied, giving her a curt nod and a smile.

"Dinner should be out shortly, now go visit with the rest of the family while I finish up in here." She said, she whisked them off towards the living room and continued doing her work.

"Now you see what I'm talking about?" Katniss whispered in Prims ear. She had told Prim about Mrs.Mellark before, and how cold and distant she seems. 

Prim gave her a nod and laughed a bit, "She's so different from Mr.Mellark." Katniss couldn't agree more, Mr.Mellark and her were completely different, Peeta must have gotten all of his personality from his dad because there wasn't even an ounce of Mrs.Mellark in him it seemed.

They talked with the Mellark family for a good while, Katniss enjoyed talking to his cousins who also looked identical to Peeta and his brothers. Peeta was playing with April like he usually did when he visited. She absolutely adored him, just like everyone did. 

Soon Christmas dinner was served, the sixteen of them were all seated around the table. Ham, mashed potatoes and salad were all set out in front of them. Katniss' eyes couldn't take in how much food there was. 

"So everyone," Peeta announced, "I just thought I'd let you know that this morning, I gave Katniss a promise ring and she gladly accepted." He smiled as he took Katniss' left hand and kissed her knuckles where the ring rested on her finger.

"Congratulations you two, I'm glad to know that you're happy together." Mr.Mellark exclaimed made the two of them a toast.

"Isn't it a bit early for that?" Mrs.Mellark interrupted. 

"Early for what?" Peeta questioned, his brow was raised high as he looked at his mother who had a displeased expression on her face.

"This! I mean you two have only known each other for what, five months?"

"Evelyn, please don't start again." Mr.Mellark sighed as he rubbed his hands down his face. Katniss was right to know that something like this would happen, which was why she worried about coming in the first place.

"Yes we've only known each other five months but does that really matter mom? I love her and that's all that matters." Peeta told her. He rubbed Katniss' knee underneath the table to give her a sense of comfort. It had only been moments into the meal and she'd already started drama. She was like a middle school girl, starting drama at every chance she got, and it made Katniss annoyed beyond belief.

"Evelyn, you can see he's serious about Katniss and we should be happy for our son, that he's finally found someone who he's serious about." Mr.Mellark spoke.

"You know what fine, Peeta, don't give us any consent. You know, you could have told us and gotten our opinion before you went ahead and did this!" She called out. This only made Katniss' blood boil even more.

"Mrs.Mellark, I know that you might not be too fond of me, but I love Peeta, and he loves me. I don't think he needed to have your consent on this." Katniss stated. Having expressed her opinion felt good for once instead of having to keep quiet and listen to the constant bickering.

"Katniss is absolutely right mom, I love her and what you say won't change that. One day the two of us will get engaged and then married, and if you don't like that then you don't have to be apart of any of it." 

"Peeta," She pleaded, "Don't be like that I'm your mother."

"And you're supposed to respect Katniss and my decisions so I'd appreciate if you did so." He told her as he scooped another spoonful of potatoes into his mouth. You could see that he was angry, the look on his usually calm face showed it all. His eyes were frozen on his mother, an evil glare was shot her way which only made her roll her eyes and continue eating her food on her plate. 

"Evelyn, would you mind if we had a word in the kitchen." Mr.Mellark asked as he got up from the table and motioned for Mrs.Mellark to follow him. Without a word, she got up from the large and overstuffed chair and followed him into the kitchen. Not a single person at the table knew what to say, all you could here was the scraping of knives and forks on their plates.

Finally after minutes of silence, Mr and Mrs.Mellark emerged from the entrance of the kitchen. You could hear their whispers as you sat at the table, but no one commented. 

"Katniss, Peeta," She spoke, "I'm sorry for my rude behaviour, and I am happy for the two of you, really." Mrs.Mellark finished and then took a seat at the head of the table. "I just, it's different, and I don't do well with change, but you seem to make my son happy and I'm sorry it took me a while to realize that." 

Katniss could only nod and finish chewing the food that was in her mouth. She didn't want to talk to Mrs.Mellark because she was sure that everything she was saying had been ordered by Mr.Mellark, who she was thankful for, because without him the argument could have gotten a lot more heated.

Peeta finally spoke up, "Thank you for understanding mom, and well, I'm sorry for being so bitter, I didn't want this to happen." He finished. Katniss gave him a pat on the knee under the table for speaking up.

"Now, how about I grab some dessert and we can all forget about what happened, this shouldn't be how our conversations end up, should they?" 

"Definitely not." Peeta mumbled. 

"Clear the plates and we'll bring the apple pie out." Mr.Mellark smiled. Katniss gave him a nod and picked up each persons plate from their spots and gingerly carried them into the large kitchen. Mrs.Mellark was cutting slices of pie and setting them on small dessert plates on the counter. She wore a pained expression on her face.

"Mrs.Mellark?" Katniss asked as she walked up to her, "I'm sorry if I'm not exactly the kind of person you wanted for Peeta, and I'm sorry for adding to the conflict over dinner." She said. 

"Dear, it's me who should be apologizing, I haven't been...well lately and I just hope that we can forget about all of this." 

"I think that's a good idea," Katniss smiled, "Here, let me take these out for you." She said as she picked up the dessert plates and pies and carried them over to the dinner table. Her previous waitress skills had certainly helped her carry the numerous amount of plates.

Eating dessert was less awkward, April was giggling beside Peeta as he fed her small bites of apple pie, and Mr.Mellark talked about expanding and renovating the bakery. Mrs.Mellark sat quietly and listened to everyone. Prim enjoyed talking to Peeta's younger brother Michael. It was a fairly smooth night afterwards.

"You ready to go?" Peeta whispered in Katniss' ear. She really was, it was getting to be late now and all she wanted was to snuggle up in bed beside Peeta.

"Mm hmm," Katniss yawned, she tapped Prim on the shoulder and motioned for her to come towards the door. "C'mon little duck, time to go." 

"I thought we agreed that my old nickname wouldn't stick around." Prim said as she rolled her eyes and followed the two of them to the front entrance.

"Thanks for coming, it was as great seeing you all." Mr.Mellark says with a wink before enveloping the three of them in a big hug. It was comforting, it felt like her fathers hugs, nice and warm. Mr.Mellark planted a kiss to each of the girls cheeks and gave Peeta one last hug before they waved goodbye to everyone and headed out the door.

"Well that wasn't too bad," Peeta chuckled as soon as they left the house and the cold winter air hit their faces, "I mean, aside from the whole argument from dinner. She took it better than I thought to be honest." 

Katniss chuckled, "Really? It could have been worse?" She asked.

"Much worse," Peeta replied, "She at least tried to keep her cool this time but you should have seen when James got married..." He sighed before opening the door to his car and getting into the drivers side.

"It seems that you're mother and father are complete opposites, I don't get it." Prim sighed as she buckled up her seat belt in the back seat of the car.

"I think everyone's figured that out, I really don't get it either." He mumbled.

The drive home was quiet, Christmas classics played non-stop on the radio as they drove towards the apartment complex. The snow fell lightly, little white snow flakes dusted the windshield of the car, it had been a while since it had last snowed.

All Katniss could think about on the drive back was her ring, the beautiful gold promise ring that lay on her left hand on her ring finger. Some people may confuse it as an engagement ring, but that's where she wanted it. There to remind her that one day she would become Katniss Mellark and become married to the man that she was certain she loved. 

Peeta caught her gazing at the ring and smiled. He was excited too, he knew that it was too early for a real engagement ring, but he was sure to stay loyal to her, and he was absolutely sure that he loved her. The time when they would actually become married remained in Peeta's mind. He thought about it frequently, having Katniss walk down the isle in a white gown and having her say the words "I do." He had known when he laid eyes on her that she was the one. Something about her was so beautiful to him, she was different than anyone else he had ever met and he was sure to hang onto her forever.

Carefully Peeta brought her hand up to his lips and kissed where the ring rested. The simple gesture made Katniss blush. Prim was fast asleep in the back seat of the car, probably in a food coma as they called it after eating far too much.

"You're sure you want this?" Peeta asked. He knew that she told him before that the answer was yes, but sometimes Katniss wasn't honest and he feared that she only said that to make him happy.

"I'm absolutely sure Peeta, I've never been so sure about something in my life." She smiled and leaned her head against his shoulder as he drove. Their fingers were still intertwined. She somewhat hoped that it was an actual engagement ring, because all she wanted was to have her claim on him, and for everyone to know that he was hers, and she was his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading everyone! This was a longer chapter than usual, almost 6,000 words! It's crazy, I didn't think I'd end up writing this much but I was so excited to write this chapter, so I couldn't help myself. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas (If you celebrate) and a Happy New Year! This is the first Chapter of 2014. 
> 
> Make sure to let me know what you thought and leave a review! Nothing makes my day brighter than hearing from you guys because I have the best readers in the world. You guys always tell me what you think and keep encouraging me and I can't thank you enough. You are all truly amazing :) 
> 
> If you want to follow me on tumblr, my url is bakerswiife.tumblr.com ! I run a THG fandom blog and you can also talk to me on there if you want, don't be shy (: I love you all and I hope you have a great weekend! Thanks for reading.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Let me know what you thought of this chapter and leave a review!  
> You can also ask me questions on tumblr at bakerswiife.tumblr.com
> 
> Alexis


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